


The Power of Twitter

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blogger Castiel, Chance to start anew, F/F, F/M, Falling in loves, Feelings, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Just read it if that's your jam, Kissing, M/M, Mechanic Dean, Mention of past break ups, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Smut, Starting Over, Starts off rough, Tags are bad but Dean and Castiel fall in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:02:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9464411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Cas has a successful blog and he loves all of his readers.  They're the reason he has done so well all these years, but after a sudden and painful breakup with his fiance, a video starts popping up all over every social media platform of his ex proposing to the man he left Cas for.  It's painful the first ten times it came across one of his news feeds, but it's downright torture by the hundredth time, so when he reaches out to his fans via Twitter and pleads with them to please STOP posting the video, he gets a response from someone he never would have thought to hear from.  The ex fiance of the guy his own ex was proposing to.  What could have started out as something strange and awkward turns out to be the start of a unique friendship.  He and Dean find that their exes are not the only thing they have in common.  When feelings come into play and they realize they care about one another as more than just friends, they have some decisions to make.They both feel broken, but together they find they really weren't at all.





	1. The Twitter Storm From Hell

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prompt based fic, but I swapped around who put up the tweet.
> 
> Ok, so maybe I'm just not feeling the summaries tonight, lol. This is fluff, Cas and Dean trying to be the shoulder one another can lean on, but their feelings for one another grow. It's a fluffy strangers to friends, friends to lovers fic, and hopefully you'll be left feeling warm and fuzzy by the end. Enjoy!

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485384657.jpg)   


 

**June 25th 2014~**

 

Cas hated being bitter.  It wasn’t how he normally was but everywhere he looked he kept seeing the pictures, and if it wasn’t the pictures it was that Godforsaken video.  It was all over his Facebook wall, his Tumblr blog, his Instagram, and now…his freaking _Twitter_ … 

 

It was enough to make him want to swear off the internet forever and toss his computer and cell phone in a hole so deep you couldn’t see the bottom.  But, he wasn’t an immature little boy.  He was a 32-year-old man with a successful career as a blogger.  Hundreds of thousands of people followed him and hung on his every word.  There was no reason for him to be this damn bitter.  But he was.  He couldn’t help it, and he hated himself for it. 

 

Up until that moment his Twitter had been the only safe place free of the pictures that kept tormenting him.  He tweeted anywhere from 50 to 100 times a day to make sure his blog got the attention it needed in order to stay successful, but usually he planned them out ahead of time thanks to another app and scheduled them ahead of time to be posted without his having to worry about spending his every waking hour on the social media site.  He had over a million followers and was verified.  He’d worked so hard to set his profile up and maintain it, so why did he want to stomp his foot and scream so badly?  He was too damn old for this shit!

 

The little blue icon on his phone said he had over 300 notifications for Twitter alone, so he decided to go weed through them.  Once in a while he retweeted things or responded.  It appeased his fans.  Usually his brother handled that part for him since he was usually busy working on his blog.  There had been a recent offer to do a live, online blog and he was talking with his agent/lawyer/brother about that. It would give him more freedom to pursue his interests and to…

 

He had no idea.  To sit around playing video games?  Read books?  Eat leftover pizza and Chinese food until he was a 600 lb. mess sitting on his couch lamenting his very existence?  Gabe told him to get out there, find someone new, someone better, and move on with his life but that was easier said than done.  He didn’t want to go through what Gadreel had already done to him again.  No one should have to go through that.  He opened his Twitter app and went to the little notification tab first. 

 

_@truecas, Did you see this?_

 

Cas clicked on the link, already with a bad feeling building in his stomach.  Sure enough, it was the video this time, not just the picture.  He exited out quickly and went to check the next tweet he was tagged in.  Another share of the video.  He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to take a deep breath.  Exhaling slowly, he forced himself to go through each notification until they were gone.  Of course new ones kept popping up.  Most were thankfully just likes or retweets of his tweets, but at least a dozen or so were tagging him to that blasted video or to stills taken from that video.  It made him want to rip his hair out.  He should be over Gad.  Be moving on and finding his own happiness again but he just…

 

No.  He refused to dwell on his failed relationship.  It was 4, almost 5 years of love and dedication that Gad had thrown away.  His loss.  Cas refused to think of how, not 3 years earlier Gad had gotten down on one knee and asked him to marry him.  How the April before last Gad had taken him out on what he’d thought was a romantic dinner but turned out to be a breakup.  Gad had met someone else and was moving out.  Cas found himself suddenly alone in the condo they had shared (which had been Cas’ to start with) to wallow in his misery and wonder what he could have done to prevent his fiancé from up and leaving him suddenly.  That was two years ago.  He’d had a lot of time to think since then, and to realize that the fault lay not with him, but with Gad.  Less than a year with his new boyfriend, though, and Gad was down on one knee again proposing.  This time at a fucking Pride parade, where everyone videotaped it and put the damn thing up on the internet.  And of course, since Cas had talked so much about Gad for years and had included pictures of them together, his readers knew who Gad was, and yes, he had talked about the breakup on his blog, so of course his readers had immediately reacted.  Most had been sympathetic, and he had appreciated that.  A few had been dicks and tried to insult him, saying it was his fault he couldn’t keep a man.  That was bullshit; he’d had longer relationships than what he had with Gad, but not ones he felt would go anywhere.  Those had all been before he met Gad.  Now he wondered what he had ever even seen in the man.  Clearly they had not been on the same page with what they wanted out of life.  Apparently he’d been wrong.  He wanted marriage, kids, a house with gardens and flowers where he could be happy with the love of his life.  How stupid to think Gad was that person he would have that with.

 

Looking back he realized there had been warning signs, including ones that told him Gad wasn’t exactly being faithful.  He’d gotten good at putting the blinders on and ignoring them, so he blamed no one but himself for how his own heart was broken in the end.  Mostly he was over the man now, but knowing Gad had proposed to the guy he’d given Cas up for?  It fucking hurt.  And in a third of the time it had taken him to propose to Cas.  Bastard.  In frustration he pulled up a box to put up a new tweet. 

 

_‘If you all could stop retweeting that video of my policeman ex-boyfriend proposing to his new boyfriend, that would be great.’_

 

He was aware that he sounded petty, and that somewhere, Gad was probably laughing at him (He knew the fucker still followed him on most social media sites.), but he couldn’t find it in himself to care in that moment.  All he wanted was for that video and those pictures to _stop_.  Right away it was liked and retweeted.  Then again, and again.  With a sigh he closed out the Twitter app and went to get himself a beer.  He wanted to just get drunk and forget how much his love life sucked, but most likely he’d just have a couple of beers and go cry over “Beaches.”  It didn’t matter anymore.  Nothing really did.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

Cas had taken a break from social media at his brother’s suggestion, so it wasn’t until some 3 days later when Gabe called and told him to get on Twitter that he actually went on there.

 

“What exactly am I looking for?” he asked as he scrolled through the notifications.  Thankfully Gabe had handled the vast majority of them already.

 

“Look for one from yesterday.  User’s name is @apple_pie_life67.”  Gabe sounded thoroughly amused, and that had Cas curious. 

 

“Some woman quoted one of my tweets?”  He still hadn’t seen it, but there were hundreds to go through.

 

“No, not a woman.  It’s a guy, and I think you should contact him and talk to him, at least for the blog.  You guys have a lot in common.”  Gabe was being cryptic and he hated that crap.

 

He knew the moment he’d found the tweet his brother was talking about.

 

_@truecas if it makes you feel any better, the guy being proposed to is my ex fiancé.  So I know how you feel!_

 

Cas read the words a second time, and then a third.  This man was the ex to Gad’s new fiancé.  How surreal was that?  He went to the man’s profile, but it didn’t look like he was really big on tweeting.  His profile said he’d been a member since 2009 but only had roughly 2k tweets, of which the vast majority were YouTube retweets.  Apparently the man liked to watch gaming videos.  Vaguely he wondered if the man was into playing the actual games or if he was more of a watcher.  He went through the man’s pictures just to get an idea of what he was like.  Not that it would clue him in to what Gad’s new beau was like, but he was curious nonetheless.  There were pictures of a sleek, black, antique Chevy Impala, and according to the description on one of the pictures, the car’s name was Baby.  There was a group picture of some people in a bar, all of whom were attractive and looking happy.  Two of the men looked similar enough that he suspected they were related.  Checking the description he realized he was right.

 

_Me, my little brother Sam, his girlfriend Amelia, and my best friend Charlie at Charlie’s 29 th birthday party_

 

Cas wondered if the handsome man with the freckles and the incredible green eyes was the account owner or if it was the taller man with the hazel eyes and shaggy hair.  He wasn’t quite as attractive.  With a start he realized where his brain had gone.  Why did it matter if the guy was attractive or not?  Another few pictures of the Impala, some more of other antique cars and then he got his answer.  It was the gorgeous guy’s account (and WHY was his brain insisting on going there?!), because in this picture he was leaning against the Impala dressed in a black tee shirt that pulled tight across his chest where his arms were crossed, and a pair of jeans that looked like they were made just for his body.  So this beautiful man had been dumped too.  Cas found himself wondering why.  Was the guy an asshole?  Selfish?  A workaholic?  It dawned on him suddenly that he was essentially victim blaming.  That wasn’t fair.  He didn’t know this guy, and he was blaming him.  Maybe it was strange, but he found that he wanted to get to know him.

 

“I feel as bad for him as I do for myself.  I’m going to handle this response,”  he told his brother.  Gabe hummed an agreement.

 

“Figured you would.  I’ll keep watching your other notifications, but I’ll let you deal with apple pie.”

 

“Alright.  I have work to do; I’ll talk to you later, ok?”  Cas was ready to hang up so he could respond to this guy already.  He couldn’t concentrate on a proper response in under 140 characters while trying to have a conversation with his brother too.

 

“That’s fine, I do too.  I’ll talk to you later.  If you do get him to do an interview for the blog, let me know, ok?  I’ll whip up a contract,”  Gabe said.

 

“Alright, sounds good.  Bye.”

 

“Bye, Cassie.”

 

Cas hung up and studied the man’s message again.  What could he say to get this guy’s attention?

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“Dean!”  Charlie ran through the shop to the back offices and ducked into the first open door.

 

“What?” he asked, looking up from his computer monitor.  She sat down in the chair across from him and held her phone out in front of her.

 

“When is the last time you checked your Twitter?” 

 

He shrugged.  “I don’t know, a few days ago?”

 

“Because @truecas responded to you in a tweet.”  Her voice was calm, but her eyes and smile belied her excitement.  He reached for her phone and took it.

 

“How the hell do you know that?” 

 

“Because I follow him, and I got an update that he had new tweets, so I checked.  And I saw your name,” she replied.

 

Dean read the tweet and then read it again.  @truecas didn’t reply often, to his knowledge.  He’d always been under the impression that the man had staff that handled his responses to followers as they seemed to vary in how they sounded.  Sometimes they were playful and funny, sometimes more serious.  It just didn’t seem like the account was run by a single person.  He could understand why it would need multiple people though.  The dude had more than a million followers and had to have like a thousand notifications a day.  That was insane!  Dean only had 300 followers, and most of them were gamers.

 

“Do you think this is really him?” he asked, unsure.

 

“I’m betting it is.  I think he wanted to answer you personally because you have something in common, even if it’s something neither of you ever wanted to experience,” she replied.  Dean frowned.

 

“So what, I should respond?”

 

“I would.  He’s practically famous.  If anyone is going to know what you went through, it’s him.”  Her logic was sound, but it wasn’t like Dean was looking for a bonding experience with this guy. So they’d both gone through sudden, unexpected breakups with the men they thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives with, and now they were stuck trying to learn how to live on their own again.  It sucked on so many levels.  He had to admit though, he was highly curious about this @truecas.  The guy only had a few pics on his account now.  All of the ones with his ex he had systematically removed after their breakup, so of the 20 0r so left, about 10 were of places, people in the man’s life, food, a really cute cat, and video game screenshots.  The other 10 were of the man with fans he had met, or with the really cute cat.  The dude was freaking _gorgeous_. 

 

After Michael walked out on him two years ago, Dean had been a mess.  They’d been together since high school, and they’d been engaged for the 3 years leading up to their split.  He thought they’d be together forever.  Hell, they’d been talking about getting a house, starting a family, and who was going to take whose name.  And then suddenly Michael was spending more time at “work,” and not coming home until late, and when he was home, he began pulling away.  Dean knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know how to fix it.  He suspected Michael was cheating, but he didn’t know with who or what the other guy had that he didn’t.  It left him with horrible paranoia, anger, and self-doubt, so when Michael suddenly announced the April before last that he was no longer in love with Dean and he was moving out, it hadn’t come as a huge surprise.  It still hurt like a son of a bitch.  As selfish as that sounded, it was sort of a comfort to know that there was someone else out there going through the exact same thing he was.  Absently he rubbed his left ring finger.  He still did that from time to time when he thought of what a fucking asshole Michael was.  Bastard. 

 

He handed Charlie back her phone and pulled Twitter up on his computer.  Charlie took his concentrated silence as a cue to let him be alone again and slipped out of the room.  Scanning his notifications he found the comment from @truecas and read it again.

 

_@apple_pie_life67 it’s the worst.  Is it bad that I’m glad someone understands what I’m going through?  I’m as sorry for you as I am for me.  #banthevideo_

 

He contemplated how to respond.  @truecas had their DMs turned off so he couldn’t privately message the guy, though he wished he could.  But…his DMs were open.  That gave him an idea…

 

_@truecas you can always message me and we can pretend that video isn’t taking over every bit of social media we’re both on_

 

Maybe the guy would message him.  He sort of hoped he did.


	2. Free Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas find talking to Dean a very easy thing to do. Dean feels the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope you all enjoy this chapter.

[  
](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485472295.jpg) on [piZap.com](http://www.pizap.com)

 

 

Cas had to admit, he was excited when he saw that @apple_pie_life67 had responded.  Gabe had told him to see if he could get the guy to agree to an interview.  He really hoped this man would be agreeable to it.  Taking a momentary break from that day’s blog posting, he tapped out a direct message.

 

_Hello.  I know you weren’t able to message me directly, so here I am messaging you.  If you wouldn’t mind, can you email me @_ _truecas@gmail.com_ _?  I think we could both use a friend that understands.  My brother tries, but he doesn’t get the humiliation.  It’s not just that Gadreel left me, it’s how he did it, and what he has chosen to do since that has hurt me the most.  I know it can’t be easy for you either.  If you don’t want to talk, I’ll understand, but know that the invitation is there._

 

_Sincerely,_

_Cas_

 

He clicked send before he could second guess himself and went back to write the second half of the blog posting for that day.  With it finally done, he did a quick spell check and posted it.  His stomach rumbled, so he headed to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich.  When he returned he saw the blue notification light on his phone screen.  That was nothing new.  No doubt his Facebook page and Twitter were blowing up.  They always did after a new blog post. He sat down and opened his Facebook first.  Standard fan responses commenting on how much they loved his new post.  That always pleased him.  His friend Meg was one of the 3 admins for his fan page on there and she was already responding to people, thanking them for watching.  Thanks to his friends and family, all of his fan inclusive social media accounts were successful, and his fan base continued to grow almost daily.  Satisfied that Meg had Facebook under control, he moved over to Twitter.  There were a few trolls tagging him to mean tweets but he ignored them in favor of the single DM in his inbox.

 

_I am sending you that email now._

 

Cas exited Twitter, leaving it up to Gabe to handle any further tweets for the day, and opened up his emails.  There were hundreds of new ones and he spent the better part of a half hour scanning through them until he found one that stood out.  From a [classiccarlover67@hotmail.com](mailto:classiccarlover67@hotmail.com).  He opened that one, smiling as he read it.

 

_Hey,_

 

_Cas,_

 

_So your name really is Cas?  Your blog just says truecas, and your twitter.  And so does your FB.  I only checked to see if you had your name anywhere, but then you signed your message Cas.  Well, Cas, my name is Dean.  Do you want to hear something incredibly ironic in the most painful of ways?  My ex, Michael?  I got him into reading your blog and following you on Twitter.  I am not sure how he met your ex, or when exactly.  All I do know is that about 6 months before he left me, he started acting really weird, spending more time at work, going out on weekends, and just pushing me away.  That was around October.  We spent his birthday together and everything was good.  That was September 22 nd.  By Halloween he was acting weird.  He walked out on me at the beginning of April.  I’m sorry this happened to you.  I know I might sound selfish, but I’m sorry this happened to me too.  I didn’t expect my life to go in this direction, but the more I think about it the more I’m sure that this happened for a reason.  I’d gotten to be dependent on him and complacent in our relationship.  With him gone I’ve had to learn how to be happy by myself.  Am I a bucket full of rainbows?  Hell no.  But I’m much better than I was after we split, and I’m slowly healing.  I’ve even been on a few dates.  _

 

_This stupid video haunts me as much as it haunts you.  My own mother sent it to me, though she had quite a lot to say about it, most of which would make a sailor blush.  Sort of made me proud, if I’m being honest.  I have a brother, too, and he’s almost as pissed as I am, though he’s a better gentleman about it.  Michael tried to talk to me a few times after he moved out, mostly because he forgot things, but I changed my number and blocked him on all social media so he was forced to go through Sam (brother).  Sam said he chewed Michael out for a good 20 minutes before he agreed to let him come get the things that had been left behind while he was there and I was out.  I have the feeling he broke some of it before turning it over.  He told Michael to leave me alone so I can move on.  I’m really trying to do that, and I’m definitely in a better place than I was.  How are you holding up?  For a while I got the feeling as I read your blog that you were barely hanging on.  I know the feeling.  You seem much more optimistic lately, and I hope that means you’re moving on too and doing better.  If you want, you can email me back anytime.  This was sort of therapeutic, and I’m glad you asked me to email you._

 

_Dean_

 

Cas did feel a little better as he read the email, but he also felt angry.  Gadreel had been cheating since possibly October?  It was like a wound that had finally scabbed over was suddenly torn open.  The pain it brought back was sharp, and it stung.  He had come to despise Gadreel for what he’d done, but this made him downright loathe the man.  Cheating bastard.  He forced himself to calm down before he responded.

 

_Dean,_

 

_I couldn’t agree with you more.  The video, the pictures, they all haunt me.  Fans, family, friends, they all have seen it and had something to say, but you know what I want most?  I want for them to stop.  I want to forget that the proposal was taped, that it was done in a public place during a parade that once upon a time I had loved dearly and enjoyed attending, and I want to forget that the man I was supposed to marry and spend the rest of my life with is now making plans to marry and spend the rest of his life with someone else.  I just want the pain and the humiliation to stop.  I want to move on without constantly being reminded that my relationship collapsed and that I apparently wasn’t good enough._

 

_I don’t know how long you and Michael were together, but I’d put nearly 5 years into mine and Gad’s relationship, and he not only broke my heart but tore it from my chest and shredded it.  I didn’t have any clue that he was cheating.  We were happy, in love, or so I thought, and making plans to get a house together when one night in early April he took me out to dinner.  I was so happy, it was the most romantic thing I think he’d ever done.  There were roses, wine, gourmet food, and if we weren’t already engaged, I’d have thought he was about to propose.  Instead we talked about the same topics we usually discussed over dinner, and after dessert was served and we were halfway finished with it, he told me he didn’t love me anymore and that he was leaving.  Just like that, all casual, like we were just having a casual conversation.  I had to call my brother to come take me to the hospital because I had the worst panic attack of my life.  He was afraid I’d try to kill myself, but I wasn’t in that mindset.  I did panic, but once that had passed, I was angry.  I got home that night and found a note on the fridge stating that he would be back soon for the rest of his stuff.  Half his clothes were already gone.  I started packing his things.  I tossed clothes out the back window into the alley below.  His more valuable things I put in boxes and set them out by the dumpsters in hopes that people would come and take them.  By the next morning I had new locks on the doors and had told the building management that he was no longer welcome.  I know he came and collected his things, but he hasn’t made any attempt to speak to me since._

 

_I think what hurts the most is that I had no clue what was about to happen.  I beat myself up for months after the split, wondering what clues I had missed and why I wasn’t what he wanted.  Now though, I realize the fault was with him, not me.  He’s the one that didn’t know a good thing when he had it, and didn’t know how to stay faithful.  I’m doing better with each passing day.  I didn’t let him ruin my career.  My family and friends worried for a while about my state of mind, but they realized I’m stronger than any of them anticipated.  I too have been on a few dates and they seem to have gone well, but I wasn’t interested in them the way they hoped.  I’m still healing and will be for a long time to come._

 

_You’re right, this is therapeutic.  It’s nice knowing someone gets what I’m going through.  If you’d like, we could talk more.  And it doesn’t even have to be about this particular topic.  We can talk about anything at all._

 

_Cas_

 

He hit send and sat back in his chair.  Hopefully he and Dean could be friends.  They could both use one; he was sure of it.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

Dean found himself emailing Cas back, and that started a daily thing between them where they would email one another on and off throughout the day.  Slowly the emails turned from venting and complaining about their exes to what they did for a living (Cas explained the offer for the live video blog deal he’d just agreed to plus the book deal he just signed.  Dean told him about his classic car restoration shop and how well it was doing.), what their hobbies were (Cas loved reading and playing video games.  Dean loved playing video games, too, and watching movies.), other interests, and just whatever happened to come to mind.  Cas was friendly and sweet, and Dean couldn’t figure out how this Gad guy could have just so coldly walked out on him. 

 

After a month and a half of emailing one another, Cas decided to text Dean.  The man had provided his phone number pretty early on, but Cas was wary of giving out his information where his full identity could be tracked down.  Something about Dean told him the man wasn’t the kind to betray him like that, so they moved over to texting.  He was still working out the details for the online video blog and thinking up ideas for it.  It wasn’t set to start production until the fall but he liked to plan ahead. 

 

In September Cas got a call that frankly he never wanted to get.  It was just after 3 and he had just wrapped up posting his latest blog entry when his phone rang. 

 

“Hello?”  He didn’t even check the caller ID.  Only about 6 people had this number, and he was most likely related to one of them.

 

“Cas?”

 

He didn’t recognize this voice.  It was deep and incredibly sexy.  Pulling the phone away from his ear to check the caller ID, he saw that it was Dean.  This was the first time the man had ever called him.

 

“Dean?”

 

“Yeah, uh, hey.  I thought you should hear this from me.  I just found out through a friend that Mike and Gad are going to be on the Pamela Barnes show this Friday.”  Dean’s voice, while sexy sounding, was also strained.  If Cas wasn’t already sitting, he would have needed to after that.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?!  How do those assholes get to be interviewed?  It was a damn proposal!  It’s not like either of them cured cancer or balanced the national budget!”

 

“Yeah, I know.  I’m fucking livid.  It’s going to be all over social media _again_.  And just when I thought that it was finally dying down.”  Dean sounded distraught.

 

“Fuck this.  I need a damn beer,”  Cas groused.

 

“Would you be up for some company?”  Dean asked.  Cas perked up at the idea.  He’d been wanting to actually meet Dean for a while now.  He was glad the other man asked first though. 

 

“I’d love some.  What time do you get off work?  I can meet you somewhere.” 

 

“I’m leaving at 5.  Meet me at 6 at The Roadhouse on Easterly.  Looks like a dive but trust me, it’s not,”  Dean said.

 

“Alright.  Do they serve food?  Can I get dinner there or should I eat before I meet you?”  Cas asked.

 

“They have some of the best burgers in town.  I plan to eat there,” Dean replied.

 

“Oh, I love burgers.  Alright, I’ll see you at 6.” 

 

“See you then, Cas.” 

 

Cas could almost hear the smile in the other man’s voice just before he hung up.  He really hoped Dean was as nice in person as he was over email and text. 

 

Cas showered and changed out of his pajamas before making the drive over to the place Dean had indicated.  He raised an eyebrow as he pulled into the parking lot.  The place had a rundown look, but the parking lot was almost at full capacity and he could smell the food cooking inside.  If Dean trusted the place, then he would have faith that it was decent.  He got out of the car and made his way towards the door.  Stepping inside was like entering another world.  It was cleaner and more updated than he’d expected.  He let his eyes wander over the people at the bar, the pool tables and dart boards off to the right, the booths off to the left and the small 2 person tables that littered the room.  For only being six most of the small tables were full already.  The food must be really good, he figured.

 

“Cas?”

 

He turned to see the most gorgeous man walking over. Dean was handsome in pictures, but in reality?  He took Cas’ breath away.  How someone could look that beautiful in a Pink Floyd tee shirt and faded jeans, he had no idea, but Dean looked like a God as he sidled up to him with a shy smile.

 

“Hello, Dean.  It’s nice to meet you in person.”  Cas smiled wide, aware that he probably looked like an idiot but he couldn’t help it.  Dean smiled a little wider.

 

“Hey.  Um, I have a booth over here.  It’s a little quieter.”  Dean’s hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jeans and he nodded with his head.  Cas waited for him to lead the way and then followed him to a booth around the corner from the bar.  They sat down across from one another, and Dean pushed one of the empty mugs sitting next to a pitcher of beer over to him.

 

“I hope it’s ok. I took the liberty of ordering a pitcher of beer. If we waited, we’d be sitting here thirsty for a while during the dinner rush,” he explained. 

 

“I figured.  This place gets a lot of business.  Food must really be phenomenal,” Cas said as he poured himself a glass.

 

“They have won awards for their burgers but also for a few other things.”  Dean grabbed a menu from behind the salt and pepper shaker.  “My aunt owns the place so I know what they serve, but you can look and see what you want.”  He set the menu down in front of Cas.

 

“You say the burgers are really good?”  Cas asked as he opened the menu.

 

“Best in the state, as far as I’m concerned,”  Dean replied.  Cas perused the burger section and settled on a bacon and cheddar burger.  A blonde woman with a wide smile came over when Dean waved her down.

 

“Who’s your friend?” she asked.

 

“This is Cas.  Cas, this is my cousin, Joanna Beth,”  Dean said by way of introductions.

 

“Please, call me Jo.”  She offered her hand, and Cas smiled as he shook it.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jo.” 

 

“So, you ordering food?” she asked.  Her brown eyes fell on Dean, and he did a double take before a scowl formed on his face. 

 

“Burgers.  I want my usual.  Cas, what do you want?”

 

“Um, the bacon and cheddar sounds good.  No onion,”  Cas told her.  She scribbled the order down on a ticket.

 

“Fries ok?” she asked.  He nodded in agreement.

 

“Alright, food will be out shortly.  Appetizer?”  She looked to Dean for that one.  Dean looked at Cas.

 

“You like mozzarella sticks?”

 

“I love them,”  Cas replied. 

 

“Some sticks too,”  Dean told her.  She practically bounced away.  Dean frowned as he watched her leave.

 

“Something wrong?”  Cas asked.

 

“She thinks we’re on a date.”  When Dean’s eyes met his, they were apologetic.  “I’m sorry about that.”

 

“Sorry because other people jump to conclusions?  Life is too short to worry about what other people think.  Let’s just enjoy our food and finish off this pitcher of beer.”  Cas lifted his mug and cleared half its contents off before setting the mug back on the table.

 

“You’re right, but I’ll warn you, my aunt is probably going to jump to the same conclusion.  And she’s walking over here right now.”  Dean nodded towards the woman headed their way.  Cas wiped the beer off his lip and looked up at the woman leaning over to kiss Dean on the top of his head.

 

“Jo told me you were here.  It’s been too long.”  She ran her fingers through Dean’s hair and smiled warmly at him.  He smiled right back.

 

“Yeah, well, I can’t hide forever.” 

 

She looked over at Cas, the same warm smile on her lips.  She was a lovely lady.

 

“Who’s your friend?”

 

“This is Cas.  Cas, this is my Aunt Ellen.” 

 

She offered her hand and Cas shook it.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you,” he said politely.

 

“It’s nice to see you getting out again,” she said, looking at Dean again.

 

“Uh, you know the guy Mike left me for?”  Dean asked, glancing over at Cas before looking at his aunt again.  Something flashed over her pretty face.  Cas got the feeling she had no love for Dean’s ex.

 

“What about him?”

 

“It was Cas’ ex, Gadreel.  They’re going live on the Pamela Barnes show this Friday.”  Dean’s voice had that tight sound to it again.  Ellen’s eyes widened for a moment before narrowing.

 

“Well.  Guess putting talentless, useless people on television is all the rage now.  You’re both better than that.”

 

Cas liked her.  A lot.  Dean relaxed, and the smile on his lips was dazzling.

 

“Yeah, ok.”  He looked over at Cas, the smile never wavering.  “We’ll be ok, right, Cas?”

 

“Absolutely.  We’re successful, intelligent people.  When they crash and burn, we’ll still be going strong.  Without them.”  Cas was positive that Michael and Gadreel’s relationship would fail miserably, and that they would both be just fine.  Dean smiled wider and nodded.

 

“Damn right, we’ll still be going strong.”

 

“How on Earth did you two end up meeting?” Ellen asked.

 

Dean launched into an animated explanation about his response to Cas’ post on Twitter, and how that got them talking.  He explained that this was their first time meeting in person, but that Cas was just as nice in person as he had been via email and text.  His words made Cas feel good.  It meant a lot that Dean thought so highly of him.  Jo came with their mozzarella sticks, but Ellen didn’t let her stick around to eavesdrop, much to the young lady’s chagrin.  They ate as they answered her question.

 

“Well, if there is one thing I can say for certain, it’s that neither of you boys deserved the raw deal you ended up getting.  I’m glad you found one another.  You both needed a friend that understood what the other was going through.  I think you get along better with Cas than you did with Mike in the 12 years you spent with him.  You need a person you can genuinely be yourself with.  Both of you.”  She patted them both on the shoulder before turning to leave.  “Don’t worry about your meals; they’re on the house.”

 

Once she was out of earshot, Dean turned to Cas.

 

“Sorry about that. She’s family so sometimes she gets a little nosey.”

 

“I don’t mind.  She’s very nice,”  Cas said.

 

Dean swallowed the last bite of his mozzarella stick and washed it down with some beer.

 

“So, I gotta ask, you planning to watch on Friday?”

 

Cas frowned down at his beer. That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it.

 

“I…don’t know.  Part of me is curious to see if they say how they met but a bigger part of me thinks that knowing won’t stop the hurt, and I am afraid of opening old wounds.  It’s been 2 and a half years.  I’m in a good place now, and I don’t want to think about how bad he hurt me.  Yet…”

 

“I want closure, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get it.  I want to know why Mike thought it was ok to do what he did.”  Dean picked at a dent in the surface of the wood table.  “I want to watch, but I’m not keen on doing it by myself.”

 

Cas understood.

 

“Well, I doubt we’re going to get closure.  It’s probably going to just piss us both off even more but if you’d like, you can come over Friday morning and I’ll make us some breakfast.  Then we can watch the episode together.”  He knew he’d torture himself by watching it, but he didn’t want to do it alone any more than Dean did.

 

“Yeah?  You sure?”  Dean asked.  Cas hesitated for a moment before reaching over and laying his hand atop the one Dean had on the table.

 

“Yes, I’m certain.  How do waffles with berries sound?  And bacon.”

 

Dean’s smile was as bright as the sun as it slipped out from behind the clouds after a storm.

 

“That sounds amazing.  Do you have coffee?”

 

“I always have coffee.  It’s a staple in my house.  There is liquid and powder creamer as well as sugar, but if there is something else you want, you could bring it,”  Cas said.

 

“I’m good with whatever you have,”  Dean told him.  It was good knowing he wasn’t alone in this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. I hope you're still enjoying the story!


	3. Slander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas get shit faced, and Sam comes to pick them up. Friday they deal with seeing their exes on national television. It's a bit more than Cas can take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad everyone is enjoying this! I do hope you like this chapter as well. :)

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485504942.jpg)   


 

“I don’t get why people can’t figure out that healing is difficult to do when you aren’t given the actual time to heal.  I’m over Mike, I swear I am, but it’s like a scab that gets ripped off every single time someone posts that stupid video or talks about it on a YouTube video, or worse, they say they want a romantic, epic proposal like that.  You know how Mike proposed to me?  We were having breakfast with some of his coworkers on a business trip he had brought me on.  This chick Anna started asking when we were going to get married and have a few kids of our own.  I sort of laughed it off ’cause Mike had always said he didn’t really see himself as the marrying type, but he turns and looks at me and sort of goes ‘I don’t know.  Maybe we should.  What do you think?’ Of course I was left sitting there gaping at him, certain he was pulling my leg.  When I realized he wasn’t, I called him out on it. He said he’d been thinking and marriage really wasn’t that bad of an idea. I should have known to say no. That’s a shitty way to propose.  No ring, no romance.  Just ‘Hey, we should probably get married, what do you think?’ When we got home he went and got a ring a few days later.  I wore it up until the day he left.  I was so stupid.”  Dean shook his head and chugged down more of his beer.  He was loose lipped now that they were on their second pitcher and had enjoyed a few shots as well.  Cas was swaying in his seat but doing his damnedest to focus on Dean and what he was saying.

 

“I know.  Gad was so serious all the time.  My family used to tease me saying that someone as serious as I am should be with someone more vibrant.  Everything was so serious with him.  I don’t think he knew how to have fun unless I was the one initiating it.  At least his proposal was a little more romantic.  We were on vacation, taking jet skis out on the lake when he pulled up next to me and out of the blue asked me to marry him.  He had the ring, and of course I said yes.  I thought we were happy.  For a long time I blamed myself.  I thought I had done something wrong, especially the way he dumped me.  I’m curious whether either of them will mention they were previously engaged.”  Cas tilted his head and pursed his lips in thought.  What would Mike and Gad talk about?  The proposal?  Their life plans?

 

“You’re adorable when you do that, you know that?”  Dean’s words slurred slightly as he spoke.  Cas looked at him, head cocked in confusion.

 

“Do what?”

 

“That.”  Dean motioned vaguely with one hand at Cas’ face.  “Tilting your head and shit.”

 

“I’m adorable?”  Cas’ nose scrunched as he tried to make the words Dean was telling him make sense.

 

“Fuck, is there anything you do that isn’t adorable?”  Dean complained.  Cas snickered and took another drink of beer.

 

“I am _not_ adorable.”  It was a weak argument.  People told him all the time that he was adorable.

 

“You’re fucking hot as hell.  But when you go cocking your head wrinkling your nose you’re unfairly cute.  You can’t do that, dude.  You can’t be hot and cute at the same time,”   Dean grumbled.  Cas grinned wide. 

 

“I think you’re mistaken.  You’re gorgeous.  Gad has nothing on you.” 

 

Dean blinked and then smiled back.

 

“I think the alcohol is impairing your judgement,” he laughed.  That got Cas laughing too, and soon they were both cracking up.

 

“I don’t know how I’m going to get home.  I-I can’t drive my car.  Perhaps I should have drank less.” 

 

“I got this.”  Dean pulled his phone out but it took squinting and some serious focus in order to see the screen.  By some miracle he managed to dial Sam’s number.  He smiled goofily at Cas as he put the phone to his ear and waited for someone to pick up.

 

“Dean?  What’s going on?” 

 

“Can you pick me ’n my friend up at Ellen’s?  We’re drunk,”  Dean blurted.  His brother sighed on the other end.

 

“Fine.  Just let me get dressed and I’ll be there in 10.  Don’t move.”

 

The line disconnected and after 3 attempts, Dean managed to get his phone into his pocket again.

 

“My car,”  Cas said lamely.

 

“’S ’k.  Ellen will let us leave it here til morning.”  Dean lifted his mug of beer to take another sip, but it was suddenly pulled from his hand.

 

“No you don’t, no more alcohol for you.”  Jo was there, holding the mug out of his reach as she set a glass of water down in front of him.  Cas snickered until she pulled his mug out of his hand too. “That goes for you too, handsome.”

 

He turned huge, unfocused blue eyes on her.

 

“You think I’m handsome?”

 

Jo snorted and rolled her eyes.  “Duh.  You can’t be that dense, dude.”

 

“I told him he’s gorgeous.  He’s a stubborn bastard though,” Dean muttered. 

 

“More stubborn than you?” she quipped.

 

“Hey!”  He glared up at her.  She pushed the glass of water closer. 

 

“Drink up; Sam will be here soon.”

 

“How did you-”  Cas started to say before he was interrupted by Dean.

 

“He called here, didn’t he?  Big jerk.” 

 

“He cares.  Now _drink_.”  She wasn’t leaving until they drank their water, so they did.

 

“I hafta _pee,_ ”  Cas complained.

 

Jo looked around before she spotted what she was looking for.

 

“Hey!  Benny!  Come here!”

 

A big guy with a beard and a friendly smile walked over to the table.

 

“Yes, sugar?”

 

“Can you help Cas here to the bathroom?  I think he can pee on his own, just make sure he doesn’t fall down along the way,” she told him.  He gave a little salute before turning to look at Cas.

 

“Can you get up on your own, brother?”

 

Cas slid out of the booth but the moment he was standing the room began to spin.  Benny’s hand shot out to steady him, and he clung to the man for dear life.

 

“Hey, get your hands off him!”  Dean growled as he tried to stand up.  Jo put a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back into his seat.

 

“Benny’s not honing in on your man.  He’s just taking him to the bathroom,” she said. 

 

“He’s…he’s not…”  He glared at the glass of water as though it had personally affronted him.

 

“But you wish he was.”  She patted his shoulder.  “I like him.  He’s nicer than Mike ever was.”

 

Dean sighed heavily before grabbing the glass of water and chugging down its contents.  Benny and Cas were long out of sight by that point.  Probably already in the bathroom.

 

“That’s fucked up though, right?  It’s so messed up to be attracted to him.”  He scrubbed a hand down his face, irritated with himself and with allowing himself to get this drunk.  “I-I think we have a date?  And it’s for the most fucked up reason of all.” 

 

She slid into the seat across from him and folded her hands around the two mugs of beer she was still holding hostage. 

 

“Talk to me.”

 

And Dean did.  He poured his heart out to his cousin and was still doing so when Benny returned with a slightly more sober looking Cas.  With a gentle nudge Benny pushed Cas down onto the seat next to Dean.

 

“He managed to stay on his feet but almost face planted on the way back.  Best to have him drink some water,” he said.

 

“So, those morons are going on one of the most popular talk shows in the country to talk about their happy relationship and the proposal.”  Jo was angry, pissed on their behalf.  Dean glanced over at Cas before turning to look at her again.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, you’re not crying, brother.  That’s a good sign.”  Benny was still standing there and had heard at least a little of the conversation.  Dean shrugged.

 

“People keep acting like I’m going to fall apart because of this, but I’m not sad.  I’m _pissed_.  He could have _told_ me he was bored, that he wanted space, that he didn’t fucking _love_ me anymore, but no, instead he cheated, he lied, he didn’t give me a chance to even react before he was turning my entire world upside down.  I _don’t_ love Mike.  Not anymore.  But I don’t know how to stop being so fucking _mad._ ” 

 

Cas slid an arm around Dean’s shoulders and squeezed him.

 

“I know.  I don’t miss Gad anymore either, but I’m mad about what he did.  There were better, easier ways to break up with someone than just taking them out on a romantic dinner and dropping the news in their lap like you’re just talking about the weather.  That’s what I’m pissed about.  I had to cancel the wedding and call all of my family to tell them the wedding was off.  I burned my suit.  Left it up to him to tell his family it was off.  I always did everything for him.  Fucker was left to do it for himself.”

 

“Aren’t you two a pair?”  Benny mused.  Jo nodded in agreement. 

 

“Hey, oh.  Your friend is uh, yeah.  Hi.”  Sam stumbled over his words as he walked up to their table.  He looked at Benny and Jo, both of whom simply slipped away.  He took Jo’s empty seat.

 

“Hey, Sammy.”  Dean grinned at his brother.  Sam looked at his brother with concern before looking at the man sitting next to him.  Cas had removed his arm from around Dean and was using both hands to hold the glass of water he was trying to drink.

 

“What, uh, are you doing drinking this heavy on a work night?”  Sam asked.

 

“We were celebrating,”  Dean replied.  Cas shook his head.

 

“No, not so much celebrating as just _really_ needing a drink.  Wasn’t thinking we’d drink _this much_.” 

 

Sam wiped a hand across his mouth hoping neither drunk man saw him trying to hide a smile. 

 

“And what would make you need to drink like this?”

 

“Do I have to tell you too?”  Dean whined. 

 

“I w-will tell you,”  Cas hiccupped.

 

For the next ten minutes he explained in slow, slurred detail exactly who he was, how they met, and what was happening this Friday.  Anger flashed behind Sam’s eyes, but he held his tongue until the man was finished speaking. 

 

“Well, I’ll definitely be tuning in and watching.  If either one of them says anything negative and uses your names I’ll be all over them with lawsuits for slander.”

 

“It’s pointless, Sammy.  I don’t wanna be petty.  I just want them to go away already.  I want to move on, not have to see them every fucking place I look.  I don’t want to see the person Mike replaced me with.”  Dean’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head.  He wasn’t crying, though.  The time for that was long over.  Cas’ arm went around him again, and he leaned his head on Dean’s shoulder.

 

“We’ll be ok.  We’re stronger than them.  They want us to be miserable, so we have to be better than that.  Get on with our lives, be happy.  And that’s what we’re gonna do.”

 

Dean leaned his own head against Cas’.

 

“Yeah, ok.”

 

Sam did a double take.  Dean wasn’t going to argue?  His brother was one stubborn SOB, but apparently the man sitting next to Dean had more sway than he’d realized.  And he wasn’t forcing Dean’s hand like Mike used to do; he was encouraging Dean to be a better person.  Anyone that did that was A-OK in Sam’s book.

 

“Come on, I’ll take you both home.” 

 

Cas slid out of the booth first and once he was steady on his feet, Dean got up.  Sam led them out to his car and helped them both into it.  He wanted to drop Dean off first, but the man wouldn’t hear of it. 

 

“Cas first.  I want to make sure he gets home ok,” he insisted.  Sam glanced back in the rear view mirror where his brother’s friend was passed out, face smooshed against the window.

 

“Yeah, ok, not a problem.  At least he gave me his address before he passed out.”  Sam turned the car in the direction of Cas’ place.  It wasn’t too much farther than Dean’s anyway.

 

“We’re gonna have pancakes and bitch about Mike and Gad while we watch the show Friday,”  Dean said absently. 

 

“You’re going to watch it together?  Maybe that’s a good idea.  If you insist on watching it, having someone there that understands would be best.”  Sam glanced over at his brother.  Dean seemed to be lost in thought, though about what he couldn’t tell.

 

“Is it bad if I like him?”  Dean asked just before they pulled up in front of Cas’ building. 

 

“No, as long as you don’t compare him to Mike, and as long as the fact that your exes got together isn’t the only reason you guys are connected.  If you genuinely like him, that’s great, but don’t use him as a coping mechanism and don’t let him use you either.”

 

Dean seemed to contemplate his words for a moment.

 

“Yeah, ok.”

 

Sam hoped he remembered this conversation in the morning.

 

Sam was able to wake Cas up and get him out of the car, but Dean insisted on following them up to Cas’ condo.  While Sam got Cas into bed, Dean found a bottle of aspirin and carried that and a glass of water to the bedroom.  He set them on the nightstand and watched as Sam pulled the covers up to Cas’ chest.  The man was already sound asleep again.  Sleep sounded like a really good idea, and he couldn’t wait to get home and collapse face first into his own bed.

 

Once they left Cas’ place, Sam drove Dean home.  His brother was sober enough by the time they got there that he was no longer stumbling or slurring his words.

 

“You going into work tomorrow?” he asked.

 

“I have to, but I’m hiding in my office ’cause I know I’ll have a hangover,”  Dean sighed.  He let Sam walk him up to his condo. 

 

“Thanks for coming to get us, Sammy.”

 

“It’s no problem.  I’d rather you call me than try to drive.  Ellen said the cars are safe and if you guys need a ride to go get them tomorrow, just call me.  I’ll pick you both up and drop you off there,”  Sam offered.

 

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow about it.  He works from home so I doubt he’s going to want to do anything until after his blog goes up.  I’ll text you at some point tomorrow and let you know.”  Dean yawned, not noticing when his brother did for him what he’d done for Cas.  By the time he had stripped his jeans off and crawled into bed, Sam was setting a glass of water and aspirin on the nightstand. 

 

“Get some sleep.  We’ll talk later.” 

 

By the time Sam had exited the condo, Dean was sound asleep.  He really hoped Mike and his new fiancé didn’t get any more popular.  It wasn’t fair to Dean or to Cas.  He intended to see if there was any way he could protect them legally. 

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

**Dean:**   My head is splitting.  How are you feeling?

 

**Cas:**   My stomach hurts.  For the most part my head is ok.  I’m drinking tea.  I don’t think I can stomach food today.

 

**Dean:**   You need to eat.  How about some soup at least?

 

**Cas:**   I don’t have any.  I’ll be fine, I have crackers, tea, and oatmeal.  Did you go in to work today?

 

**Dean:** Unfortunately.  I’m the boss.  Plus Sam called Charlie, and she has been harassing me all day.

 

**Cas:**  By harassing do you mean making sure you stay fed and hydrated?

 

**Dean:**   Yeah, pretty much.  Did you get your blog up today?

 

**Cas:** I write them in advance most of the time, that way I’m not rushing last minute.  It’s a habit I started pretty early on.  So it’s up and I’m good for maybe 3 days.  I’m debating on whether I want to crawl back into bed.

 

**Dean:**   I bet a shower will make you feel tons better.  Go take one.  I took one this morning and it helped a lot.

 

Dean didn’t hear from Cas again for nearly two hours.  He was just closing up shop when his phone buzzed again.

 

**Cas:**   You’ll be glad to know that I showered, shaved, and I went to the store and grabbed a couple cans of soup along with something for my stomach.  Remind me to never drink like that again.  What were we doing for shots?  Was that tequila?

 

Dean snickered as he stopped to respond.

 

**Dean:**   Yeah, that was good ole Jose messing with us both.  Think I’ll stick to beer next time.

 

**Cas:**   Me too!

 

The next few days dragged on, and then Friday morning came.  Dean had gone down to open the shop as usual but left to head over to Cas’.  He had warned Charlie that he wasn’t sure if he’d be in later.  She knew about Mike and his fiancé going on the Pamela Barnes show, and she didn’t give him too much grief about it. He made the drive to Cas’ condo and headed on up. 

 

As soon as he knocked, Cas was pulling the door open but hurrying back to the kitchen.

 

“Sorry, cooking.  Care to help?”  He called over his shoulder as he headed back to the stove.  Dean followed.

 

“Sure, what do you want me to do?”

 

“You can either man the bacon or the waffle maker,”  Cas replied.  Dean headed for the stove.  He got started on the bacon while Cas finished making the waffles.  When Cas had said he was going to be making waffles Dean had honestly thought he’d just pop some frozen ones in the toaster.  Fresh, homemade waffles loaded with blackberries was way better than what he was expecting.

 

“So, uh, how much of that night do you remember?”  Dean asked as he filled a frying pan with strips of bacon.  Cas side eyed him as he put more batter on the waffle maker.

 

“All of it.  I am not forgetful when I am drunk.  Are you asking if I remember you pouring your heart out to your cousin and your aunt, the answer is yes.”

 

Dean laughed nervously. “Oh, ok, cause sometimes _I_ don’t remember what I said.”

 

Cas grinned as he closed the waffle maker.

 

“You seemed to think I was an adorable drunk.” 

 

Dean groaned and ducked his head, hoping Cas wouldn’t see him blushing, but he did.  He heard the way the other man laughed.  It was a beautiful sound, even if he was amused with Dean.

 

“Shut up,”  Dean mumbled.  That just had Cas laughing harder.

 

“If it’s any consolation, you make an adorably grumpy drunk.” 

 

“I am not grumpy,”  Dean argued.

 

“Yes, you are.  You seemed to be upset that I was being adorable, though frankly I have no clue what I was doing that would even classify as adorable, but it was definitely amusing seeing you all grumbly,”  Cas teased.  Dean chuckled and shook his head. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, smart guy, laugh it up.”

 

They got the bacon and waffles finished and loaded the food and a carafe of coffee onto one tray that Dean carried into the living room while Cas got the rest.  Sitting on the floor with their backs to the couch, they used the coffee table to set up their breakfast.  Cas turned the television on, but they still had a half hour until the show started.  Dean dug into his waffles, groaning at the taste of berries as they burst on his tongue.

 

“These are amazing.  Almost as good as pie.”  Dean’s eyes sparkled, and Cas found himself staring into them instead of looking at the television.  Dean was staring right back.

 

“You…you like pie, do you?”  Cas asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s my favorite food next to burgers.  My mom makes fantastic pies and growing up my dad used to experiment on the grill with different kinds of burgers.  It was fun helping him, and I learned how to work a grill thanks to him.  My mom taught me how to cook in the kitchen,”  Dean replied.

 

“You like to cook?”  Cas popped a bite of waffle in his mouth.

 

“I love to cook, but I don’t do it too much now.  Kind of sucks to cook for just me.  If my brother or my friends come over, I’ll cook though,”  Dean said around a mouthful of bacon. 

 

“I like to cook too, but I usually stick to sandwiches or salads when I’m home alone,”  Cas admitted.

 

The music started and they both turned their attention to the television.  Cas set his plate on the coffee table, his appetite suddenly gone.  Dean ate the last of his bacon and poured them both a cup of coffee, making sure to stir some liquid creamer into them both. 

 

“It’s going to be ok, Cas.  _We’re_ going to be ok,” he said as he handed one over.  Cas took it, smiling gratefully at him.

 

“You’re right.” 

 

They watched Pamela do her monologue and crack her jokes before she introduced her first guest, a little boy named Tim that had gone out of his way to raise $100,000 for his school after students started getting sick from the poor conditions.  After Tim came a couple that Dean vaguely recognized from some comedy show. Cas was clueless as to who they were though. He was on edge, his fingers in his mouth as he practically gnawed at his fingernails. Dean didn’t blame him though.  Then Pamela was talking about Mike and Gad. She spoke fondly of the video, and that made Dean’s stomach turn.  Then the video, brief as it was, was playing for all of America to see.  Great, so those that hadn’t see it all over social media were going to get to see it now. 

 

Then she was introducing them.  Mike, charismatic asshole that he was, came out with his hands in the air like he was some sort of famous celebrity, worthy of the applause.  Gad came out only a few steps behind him, a small smile and a polite nod aimed at the audience.  Then Mike reached back to take his hand, and Gad absolutely lit up.  Cas frowned.  He never smiled like that for him.  The look on Mike’s face was one of pure adoration too.  Dean had wondered if he really did love Gadreel, but the man was a horrible liar.  This was real.  They made their way to Pamela and greeted her with a hug (Mike) and a polite handshake (Gad).  Once they were all seated, Pamela jumped right into the interview.

 

“So, Gadreel, is it?  That is a name I’ve never heard before.”

 

“I am named after an angel,” he said.

 

“Oh, that’s different.  Usually people are named after celebrities or inanimate objects.”  (Cue laughter from audience)  “It’s not often I meet people named after angels.  And you’re a police officer, correct?”

 

He nodded.  “That’s right.”

 

“And Mike, you’re an analyst?”  Pamela turned to look at him.

 

“That’s right.”  Mike nodded in confirmation.

 

“Well, it doesn’t sound like either of your jobs would normally cross paths.  How did you two meet?” she asked.

 

Cas didn’t realize he was leaning towards Dean until the man’s arm was around his shoulders.  He curled into Dean, drawing his legs up and hugging them.

 

“Well, it’s funny really.  We were both in unhappy relationships at the time that neither of us felt were going anywhere. I needed to get out of the house, and I found myself down at the gym more nights than not.  Gadreel here was a regular there.  We started out as workout buddies and from there we became friends.  When I realized I liked him as more than a friend, I knew I had to make some choices.  I went home, had a talk with my boyfriend, he wasn’t happy with our relationship either, and we had an amicable split.  I still didn’t pursue anything with Gad here until he talked to his boyfriend.”  Mike said it so smoothly, each and every lie slipping out of his mouth infuriating Dean more and more.

 

“That fucking lying son of a-”

 

“Dean, wait, shh!  I need to hear Gad’s side.  He looks constipated; that means he’s about to lie too.”  Cas hushed him, and Dean snapped his mouth shut quickly.  He was furious, but he wanted to hear the rest.

 

“I was actually engaged already when I met Mike,”  Gad said calmly.  “But we had fallen out of love.  It felt like I was suffocating, and I was desperate to catch my breath.  Mike made me feel alive again.  He’s nothing like my ex, and for that I’m grateful.  When I realized I was falling for him, I was honest with my ex and told him.  I moved out that weekend and a week later Mike and I had our own place together.  From there we took our time really getting to know one another, seeing if we really could be happy together.  I’ve never been this happy in my entire life.  I thought my ex was the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with because everyone around us was pressuring me to propose to him, but it wasn’t until I met Mike and learned what true love really is that I realized succumbing to peer pressure only ends up with people getting hurt in the long run.  My ex, he’s a good man and I didn’t want to hurt him, but I knew Mike was the one.  So, when I had to work the Pridefest this year, I made the decision to propose.  We never thought it would be videotaped, or that it would come to this.  I just wanted to ask the man I love more than anything in the world to spend the rest of his life with me.”  Gadreel spoke calmly, but his face was pinched the entire time, a tell that he was lying.  Even Pamela’s bright smile had faded and she was looking at them both as if she didn’t quite believe them. 

 

Cas grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.

 

“Cas?”  Dean looked down at him worriedly.  He could feel the way the man trembled beside him.

 

“I can’t.  The lies, they’re too much.  And I can’t sit there and watch her shower gifts and a probable honeymoon vacation on them.  I just _can’t._ ”

 

Cas set the remote back on the table with a shaky hand before hugging his knees tight again.  Dean rubbed his arm as they sat quietly, each thinking about the flat out lies their exes had told on live television.

 

“Hey Cas, you have a really popular blog, right?”  Dean asked.  Cas lifted his head up to look at him.

 

“Very.  Why do you ask?”

 

“Because I’m thinking maybe it’s time we gave them a taste of their own medicine,”  Dean replied.  Cas cocked an eyebrow, his curiosity outweighing his current anger.

 

“Ok, how do you suggest that we do that?”

 

Dean’s grin was a little bit terrifying.

 

“I have a couple of ideas…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. I'm so happy everyone is enjoying this story.


	4. Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a talk with his brother, Cas realizes how he feels about Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not sure I'll have internet access tomorrow, therefore I'm giving you a second chapter tonight. I also am not sure I'll have wifi Sunday, so you may have to wait until Monday for that. I hope you all do enjoy your weekend. I will be working hard on my megabang this weekend. I'm 72k words in and still going. That won't post til July though. Have patience, we have a few more stories going up between now and then. Enjoy this chapter!

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485575716.jpg)   


 

**December 2014~**

 

“So he agreed to let you interview him?”  Gabe asked.  Cas swallowed the rest of the chow mein noodles he’d been trying to cram in his mouth before responding.

 

“No, not an interview.  The live blog is doing fantastic and Garth has told me that offers from 2 different networks, one on cable, one on regular television, have come in for me to do a talk show.  Dean actually made the suggestion, and I like the idea.  We’re going to do an episode where we talk about how we met, and what brought us together as friends.  I mean hell, that tweet I put up, the one asking people to stop sharing that video, where he responded?  That became a freaking meme that we can’t escape any more than we can that stupid proposal video that keeps circulating.  We want to let the world know just how big of liars they are. 

 

“Dean has a friend that will make sure it ends up right where Pamela Barnes can see it too.  Whether she does anything about it, that’s not the point.  But she’ll know the truth.  I’ll work on getting the truth out there, but it won’t be to spite Mike or Gad.  It will be for mine and Dean’s peace of mind.  We’ve been portrayed as the people that made them miserable, that they couldn’t wait to escape because we were so awful. I loved Gad! I dedicated my heart and soul to that bastard, and this is how he portrays me.  And Dean is not the monster Mike paints him to be.  He did everything for Mike, and the bastard put almost nothing back into their relationship.  He didn’t deserve to be made to look like the asshole that was holding Mike back. 

 

“We’re not trying to get back at them, I swear, but my readers, my fans, you’ve seen the comments they’re leaving on all of my social media pages.  They _know_ I was engaged to Gadreel.  I share my life with them, so they knew how happy and in love I was, and how much I was looking forward to our wedding.  But after Gad left?  You know I stopped sharing for a long time.  I was so depressed and angry, so when I did finally start sharing what was going on in my life with them again, I shared my heartbreak as a sort of self-therapy.  Eventually I told them what Gad had done, so they know how stunned I was by the breakup, and how I hadn’t seen it coming at all.  Have you seen the tweets and Facebook comments on my page from the people that watched the show?  Rhetorical question, I know you have because you’ve been responding to the tweets.  People know he lied.  They’re all but demanding that I stand up for myself, and I want that. I gave Gad everything I had.  He’s the one that threw that way and then shit on me for having loved him.”

 

Gabe listened to his brother, and he knew that this was a step towards getting the closure that both he and Dean needed so bad.  Neither man deserved the raw deal they had gotten.  He’d watched that episode too and had fumed at the gifts Pamela had showered on Mike and Gad after the interview.  They’d gotten $10,000 in cash to spend on their honeymoon along with matching tee shirts and some other crap that he’d been too pissed to pay attention to.  He decided to change the topic somewhat, if only to get his brother to calm down a bit.

 

“You and Dean seem to get along well.  He seems like a really nice guy.”

 

Cas shoved more noodles into his mouth, but there was a light blush on his cheeks that did not escape notice.

 

“Dean is great.  I seriously don’t know why Mike dumped him.  I enjoy the time we spend together.  Sometimes we just play video games or sit and talk about our day.  He thinks I’m fun to be around and easy to talk to.  Gad used to tell me I was too serious.  Me.  Too serious.  This coming from the man that didn’t know what a joke was even if it slapped him upside the head.  Dean says Mike used to complain that he was too focused on his work and not enough on Mike.  He says Mike is a very selfish person by nature and that the world has to revolve around him.  Seeing him on Pamela’s show sort of proved that.  Dean was hurt.  I was hurt.  We’re trying to move past that.”

 

“Uh huh.  But you like him.”  Gabe arched an eyebrow, daring his brother to disagree with him.  Cas didn’t though.  Instead, he pushed the half empty container of noodles away and sighed.

 

“Yes, I do, but I’m afraid that if I made a move, he’d think it was for the wrong reasons.”

 

“What reasons are those exactly?”  Gabe asked.

 

“You know, like, on the rebound.  I don’t want him to ever think I’d be using him to replace Gad, or that I would compare him.  I like him in a completely different way.  He’s attractive, sure, but there’s so much more to him than that.  He’s sweet and kind, gentle by nature and incredibly thoughtful.  I look forward to every moment I get to spend with him.  Looking back, maybe I’d gotten complacent in my relationship with Gad, but mostly because he was incredibly boring.  Yes, I loved him and I would have spent the rest of my life loving him if he hadn’t done what he did, but Dean is nothing like that.  He thinks he’s dull but he’s really not.  We like the same shows, the same movies, many of the same video games, foods, cars, all of that, so we’re never bored when we’re together and oh my fucking God I think I’m in love with him!”  Cas’ jaw dropped and he stared at his brother with wide, fearful eyes.  “I can’t be in love with him!  That’s too soon, right?  It’s a sign that I’m on the rebound, right?”

 

“No, Cassie, you are not on the rebound.  Balthazar?  He was a rebound.  Dick?  He was a rebound.  You got that out of your system and then you concentrated on you, on making your blog even more successful.  You learned to like yourself again and to be happy without a man in your life.  And now you’re in a good place emotionally, despite all this shit with that stupid video.  This is the perfect time to meet someone new and fall in love.  Besides, it’s not like you guys met last week.  You’ve been talking for what, like 6 months now?”  Gabe asked. 

`

“Yeah, the first message was back in June.  We talked online for a few months before we met,”  Cas replied.

 

“And it’s now December.  Christmas is around the corner.  Tell me, did you buy him a gift?” 

 

Cas nodded.  “I bought him several.”

 

“Uh huh, and when were you planning to give them to him?  Did you want to spend Christmas with him or invite him over for it?”  Gabe asked.

 

“I thought about it but then I figured he’d say no because he does have family.  I figured he’d spend the holidays with them.”  Cas took a drink of his tea and thought back, trying to pinpoint the moment he had fallen in love with Dean.  He didn’t know when it happened but surprisingly, he was not freaking out.  The question that weighed heavily on his mind now was how did Dean feel about him? 

 

“You’re worried that he doesn’t feel the same.”  Gabe observed.  Cas looked at him, and his older brother could see the fear and worry in his eyes.

 

“I think you and Dean need to have a talk.”

 

Cas ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

 

“You’re right.  I don’t want to ruin what we have, but you’re right.”

 

“I don’t think you’re going to ruin anything.  Give the guy some credit.  At least see how he feels before dropping the ‘L’ word.”  Gabe snagged a couple of fortune cookies and tossed one at his brother.  “In the meantime let me tell you about this sexy woman that just started at the firm.  Her name is Kali, and I swear she is a goddess…”

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

Dean had just gotten out of the shower when he heard keys in the front door.  There were only 3 people that had keys to his place.  After the shit with Mike he’d changed the locks, so only his mom, Charlie, and Sam could let themselves in.  He shrugged on the pair of sweatpants he’d been smart enough to carry to the bathroom with him and after drying his hair a bit, he went in search of his visitor.  A flash of red hair moving to sit on the couch told him Charlie was there.

 

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked as he sat down in his recliner.

 

“I texted and called but you didn’t pick up.  I was wanting to know what your plans are for Christmas Eve.”  She had stripped out of her coat and kicked her shoes off.  That told him she planned to stick around for a little while.

 

“Ah, well, I haven’t decided yet.  Christmas Day is with my folks and Sam, you know that though.  Why, were you planning something for Christmas Eve?” 

 

“I am throwing a little get together.  We’re doing a white elephant type gift exchange and we’ll probably do a Harry Potter marathon.  If we don’t do that we’ll probably get people doing karaoke or something.  This is your official invitation.  I already told Sam.  He’s coming, and he’s bringing a date.  Her name’s Sarah?  I don’t know how they met, but he was excited when he told me he was going to bring her,” she said.

 

Dean thought for a moment.  She tried to do something like this every year and while he had gone the first year after his breakup, it had been painful without Mike there and he’d drank way too much.  The sympathetic look everyone gave him had driven him nuts.  Last year he had come up with an excuse not to go.  No way did he want to deal with those looks again.  But this year…

 

“Yeah, I’ll be there.  It’s ok if I bring someone?”

 

Her entire face lit up hearing that.

 

“Sure!  Of course!  Do I know the guy?”

 

“Not yet, but if he agrees to come with me, you will get to meet him.  He’s really cool.”  He hoped Cas would say yes.  Attending one of these parties alone would be painful, and he wouldn’t be able to back out since he’d already promised he’d go.

 

“Sweet!  So, you up for pizza and some Outlast?”  she asked.

 

“Outlast?  Really?  You must want nightmares,” he teased. 

 

“I can handle it.  Maybe we should do The Last of Us instead,”  she said.  He laughed. 

 

“Whatever you want, Red.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. :)


	5. Revelation of Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean talks to his brother about his feelings for Cas, and that gives him the courage to bring it up to Cas himself. And boy is he glad he did. 
> 
> Then it's time for Cas to meet Dean's friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is doubtful there will be an update tomorrow, I apologize. It's unlikely that I'll have wifi, but consider this tomorrow's update since I did update twice yesterday thinking I wouldn't have wifi today. Except I did. Yay! I hope you all are enjoying this story still. 
> 
> I've decided to add on an epilogue at the end because there are some things I want to cover still that I didn't address in this story.

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485653153.jpg)   


 

“Hey, uh, do you have plans for Christmas Eve?” 

 

Cas paused in deleting emails at the question.

 

“Christmas Eve?  No, I don’t.  I was just going to stay in, watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ eat some pizza and veg out.  Why?”

 

“Well,”  Dean sounded nervous, and Cas was dying to know why.

 

“Yes?”

 

“My friend Charlie, remember I told you about her?”  Dean asked.

 

“Yes, I do.” 

 

“Well, she’s throwing a party Christmas Eve, and she invited me.  I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me.”  The nervousness was even more apparent in his voice. 

 

“I would love to.”  Cas meant that, too.  Since coming to terms with his feelings the other day he hadn’t gotten a chance to see Dean in person, but just hearing his voice made his heart beat faster, and getting asked to go to a party?  It had his stomach doing flips.  Was this a date or was this just two friends attending a party together? 

 

“Awesome.”  Dean sounded really happy that he’d said yes.  “It’s casual, so jeans and a tee shirt is good.  A warning though?  You might get wrangled into strip poker or some other type of stripping game once people get a little alcohol in them.  If that’s not your kind of thing, I’ll make it damn clear to them not to push you.  But in the event that it is, I suggest clean underwear, and layers.  They tend to play dirty with new people.”

 

“It sounds like fun.  I’ll make sure I’m prepared,”  Cas laughed.  It sounded like it would be fun to attend.  Dean always spoke fondly of Charlie and of the guys down at his shop.  He had hired a bunch of his friends, and Cas expected most of them to be there.

 

“So, how about I pick you up at 6:30, we can grab something to eat, head over there, and around 11 or so Charlie will order pizza, but we’ll all have a buzz by that point, so it’s better if we eat before we get there,”  Dean said.

 

“Ok, I’ll be ready at 6:30,”  Cas said quickly.  “I, um, I hope it’s ok but I got you some things for Christmas.  That’s ok, right?”

 

“Yeah, absolutely. I got you some gifts too,”  Dean replied just as quickly.

 

“Oh, good.  So, um, I’ll see you Friday at 6:30 then.”  Cas was smiling so wide his cheeks ached from the effort.

 

“Definitely.  I’ll see you then.”

 

The line disconnected, and Cas felt like he was floating as he made his way out of his spare bedroom turned office and into his bedroom where the presents he had bought Dean were hidden in the closet.  They still needed to be wrapped, so he fished out the paper he had left over from the year before and got down to business.  It didn’t take long to wrap the items, but he took his time, making sure they each looked neat and had a tag attached with Dean’s name printed neatly on it.  He refused to allow himself to worry that he might be making too grand of a gesture by giving these to Dean.  If he followed that train of thought he knew he’d panic, and there was no time for that.  Instead he dug around in his closet, searching for his nicest (ass hugging) jeans, and then for the rest of what he planned to wear.  It was Tuesday.  In 3 days Dean would be picking him up to go to the party.  Was it a date?  He hoped Dean was looking at it like it was a date.  God, he wanted so badly for it to be a date!  His stomach was going to be in absolute knots by the time Friday rolled around. 

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

**December 24 th~**

 

“So I heard you’re bringing a date tonight.”  Sam sat down across from his brother and watched as the man tapped away on his computer.  Dean swallowed hard but he wasn’t denying it.

 

“Uh, I invited Cas.”

 

Sam wasn’t stupid.  He knew his brother had been seeing Cas for months now, even if they weren’t officially putting a label on it.  He was just happy his brother had found someone he was truly comfortable with.  When he’d been with Mike, he’d never really been allowed to be himself.  Even back in high school Dean had come to exist just to make Mike happy, and the man never really seemed to be satisfied.  He would never admit to it, but he had prayed hard that they would realize they were not really meant for one another and would split, though the way it happened, that was _not_ what he had wanted.  Dean had been a mess after Mike had dumped him.  He’d been furious, sure, but the pain on his face and in his voice had just about killed Sam to see.  It had taken a long time for Dean to get over him.  Then that stupid proposal had happened. Sam had never wanted anything as much as he had wanted the video and all the pictures to magically disappear.  He’d seen the crushed look on his brother’s face, and it had hurt him to know that the wounds that had just started to heal were being torn right back open. 

 

Then Cas had come along.  He knew that Cas had been as troubled by the video as Dean and that he’d posted something on Twitter asking his followers and fans to please stop posting that video.  Honestly, he didn’t blame him for not wanting to see it over and over again.  But then Dean had responded to him, and somehow, they had forged a friendship.  He had met and hung out a few times with Dean while Cas was there since the whole drunk episode, and he’d even started reading the man’s blog.  He liked Cas.  The man was infinitely better than Mike and so good for Dean it was like they were meant for each other.  He wondered if they were both really that oblivious or if they were aware and dancing around one another because they didn’t know how the other felt.  No harm in asking, he figured.

 

“Yeah, figured as much.  Is he coming to dinner Saturday?  Sarah’s coming, and she has been asking about him.”

 

Dean looked up sharply, his green eyes narrowing.

 

“Why would she think he was coming to dinner?”

 

“Duh, cause you two have been seeing each other for months.”  Sam could play dense when he needed to.  Hopefully Dean wouldn’t catch on until he got him to confess his feelings.

 

“No, we’re not.  He’s…”  And yeah, clearly Dean didn’t have a word for what Cas was to him.  It was also equally as clear that he wanted Cas to be his boyfriend.

 

“Special.  I get it.  He’s crazy about you, you know.  And I’m sure there was zero hesitation when you invited him.  What are you going to do if Benny hits on him?  Or Cole?  You going to go all feral and beat your chest?  Flash your teeth to get them to back off from your ‘not’ boyfriend?  Seriously, Dean.  If you like him that much, tell him.  He’s the best thing that has ever happened to you, and I bet you haven’t even kissed him yet.”  Sam pursed his lips in annoyance and crossed his arms.  The guilty look on Dean’s face told him what he’d said was true.  But there was obvious desire there as well.  Dean _wanted_ to kiss him.  Probably wanted to do a whole lot more that Sam had no desire to think about.

 

“It’s more complicated than that.”  Dean argued.  He started to type again but stopped.  “You think he likes me?”

 

“I see the way he looks at you. I think it might be a little more than just like.  You make him incredibly happy.  How do you not see that?  Anyone with eyes can see it. And how do you not realize he makes you just as happy?”

 

Dean mulled that over for a few minutes before he started typing again.

 

“What if you’re wrong?  What if I fuck up what we have?  He’s become one of my best friends, Sammy.  I don’t want to lose him.  When we’re together, I don’t even think of Mike anymore.  It’s the furthest thing from my mind.  I just see Cas.  His smile, his sense of humor, his thoughtfulness, and I want to be around him even more.  I haven’t gotten to see him nearly as much now that he has the live blog, but he says once they have a solid schedule worked out for production, he’ll have more free time.  I miss him when I don’t get to see him for days at a time.  Is it wrong to think that what I have with him, it’s better than what I had with Mike?  And we haven’t even kissed!  I’ve barely touched him, but I want to so bad.  I just want to take him in my arms and not let go, and fuck if that’s not absolutely terrifying.”

 

Sam was a little stunned by his brother’s open honesty.  Usually he hid his emotions under a mask of anger and irritation until the people prying backed off, but right now he was a raw bundle of nerves, frightened of his own feelings and wishing for something he didn’t think he deserved.

 

“Sounds to me like you’re falling in love.  Or that you are already in love.  I wouldn’t blame you; he’s a great guy.”

 

Dean flattened his hands on the desk to hide the fact that they were shaking, but Sam had seen it anyway. 

 

“I’m scared, Sam.  What if…”

 

“It won’t.”  Sam stopped him before he could finish.

 

“But what if?”

 

“It _won’t_ ,”  Sam repeated more firmly.  “Cas is not Mike.  Don’t compare them.”

 

Dean nodded and checked the time on his computer. 

 

“I’m picking him up in 2 hours.  I should probably go home now and take a shower.”

 

“Good idea.  I’m picking Sarah up, and we’ll be to Charlie’s around 8.  We’ll meet you there.” Sam had taken the day off work mostly because his boss had forced him to, saying he worked too much and needed to take a day here and there to relax.  So after a morning jog, some shopping and bringing lunch to Sarah at the art gallery where she worked, he’d decided to come bug his brother.

 

“I feel like I’m a fucking nervous wreck.  Do you think he thinks I asked him to the party as a date?”  Dean asked as he shut down the computer and stood up.

 

“Probably, but he still said yes.  So what does that tell you?”  Sam stood up as well.

 

“That he likes me, and maybe he wants this to be a date too?”  Dean ventured to guess.  Sam patted him on the shoulder.

 

“So talk to him over dinner.  Make sure you both eat before you get there.  If you wait for the pizzas she orders later you’ll both be sorry.  You know she pulls out the heavy stuff that will knock you on your asses.  You need the food to absorb it.  I’m staying sober this time around, so if you guys take a cab, I can drive you both home.”

 

“Good idea.  I’ll arrange for an Uber, and I’ll leave my car at his place.”  Dean put the rest of his paperwork for the inventory he was doing in his desk before grabbing his coat.  Sam followed him to the door.

 

“So I’ll see you in a couple of hours then,” Sam said. Dean gave a brisk nod.

 

“Yep.  Let’s hope I don’t make a complete ass out of myself tonight.”

 

They parted ways in the parking lot and Sam watched as the Impala turned right, heading in the direction of Dean’s apartment.  Hopefully by the time he saw his brother tonight he’d be introducing his new boyfriend to their friends.  He’d know in a few hours.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

Cas showered, taking special care to make sure he cleaned anywhere he had been sweating, then shaved.  No matter how close he shaved though, he always looked like he had a 5 o’clock shadow.  He hated that, but there was nothing he could do about it.  Since puberty it had been like that.  The jeans he had picked out the other night were laying on his bed along with a dark gray V-neck tee shirt that hugged his chest and arms nicely, and a cream colored pullover sweater.  After deeming his hair a lost cause and settling for at least making sure it was brushed, he took the time to apply deodorant and brush his teeth.  He was just finishing tying his shoes when someone knocked at the door.  His heart leapt into his throat as he made his way through the condo to answer it.

 

He opened the door to find Dean standing there, a stack of gifts in his hands.  His green eyes widened as they fell on Cas.

 

“Wow, you look…,”  Dean laughed nervously,  “you look amazing, Cas.”

 

Cas smiled and stepped back so he could come inside.

 

“Thank you.  You said layers, so I put on a sweater over my tee shirt.  I just hope her house isn’t too hot, especially if there are a lot of people there.”

 

“She tends to lower the thermostat when the house is full, so people aren’t left sweating.”  Dean set the gifts down on the coffee table, and when he turned back around Cas got a good look at him.

 

“You look very nice as well.”  He complimented the other man, and though his words were polite, he was unable to stop staring at Dean’s body.  He was so damn hot in his jeans and the Henley he was wearing under a flannel and a leather jacket. 

  
“Thanks.  Uh, these are for you, by the way.  Guess I should have handed them to you, but the one is kind of heavy.”  Dean rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture Cas had figured out fairly early on.  The man was nervous.

 

“I have yours as well.  Give me a moment to grab them.”  He went to his bedroom and grabbed the stack of neatly gift wrapped boxes off his dresser and brought them back to the living room.  Motioning for Dean to sit down, he joined the man on the couch.  He handed the first one to Dean, who reached out to grab one of the ones meant for Cas off the table.  They exchanged them with wide, happy smiles on their faces.

 

Dean admired the wrapping for a moment, almost feeling guilty about opening it after Cas had taken such care with it, but he did, smiling even wider as he saw what was inside.  It was a box set of his favorite anime.  They’d had a conversation a few months back about what they liked to watch, and he’d mentioned this one almost in passing, and how he lamented the fact that he couldn’t find it anywhere online to buy it.  Somehow, Cas had found it.

 

“Where did you find this?!  I looked everywhere!”

 

Cas smiled almost shyly. 

 

“I know of a site that has rare and hard to find animes, and it was on there.  I had to order it directly from Japan though.  Took a while to get here.” 

 

“Well, thank you.  Would you maybe want to watch it with me sometime?”  Dean asked.

 

“I’d love to,”  Cas replied.  Dean motioned to the gift still sitting in his lap, and Cas hurried to open it.  He gasped when he saw it was a new set of headphones.  He’d mentioned that his pair had broken recently.  He’d just been too lazy to go and buy a new pair.  Instead he had duct taped the broken pair and had been dealing with them like that.  Eventually he would have gone and bought new ones.  This saved him having to do that, and it was a nicer pair than the ones he already had.

 

“These are fantastic!  Way better than the pair that broke on me.  Thank you!”  Cas exclaimed as he read everything written on the box.  He knew Dean had to have spent a small fortune on these. Was that proof Dean cared about him as more than just friends?  New friends didn’t often buy $200 headphones for one another to his knowledge.  He was very appreciative though. 

 

They exchanged a few other gifts, like a book series for Cas, a new, environmentally safe detailing kit for Dean, as well as a tee shirt with an Impala on it, and a ceramic thermos for Cas that he was eager to use.  Cas hugged Dean, partially as a thank you for the gifts but mostly because he just wanted to.  It lasted longer than what he thought was socially acceptable for simple friends, and when they both sat back Dean had that nervous look again.

 

“Hey, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.”  He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, and Cas watched the man’s cheeks flush red. 

 

“Of course.  What’s on your mind?”

 

“Uh, well…”  His heart was racing, Cas could see the artery throbbing in his neck.

 

“Dean, are you trying to tell me that you like me?” 

 

Dean swallowed hard.

 

“Yeah, but it’s kind of more than just that.”

 

His head was spinning.  Dean was at least saying he cared about him.  That was more than he’d hoped for.  He set his gifts aside and then took the ones he’d bought Dean and set those on the coffee table too. 

 

“It scares you, doesn’t it?” he guessed. 

 

“I don’t want you thinking it’s like, not real or something.  Shit, I’m bad at this.”  A small furrow formed on his brow as Dean frowned.  He’d had something beautiful prepared but sitting here with Cas watching him, waiting to hear what he would say, his tongue had stuttered and not let the words flow the way he had heard them in his mind.  Still, Cas could read him like an open book.  That was both a relief and scary at the same time. 

 

“Dean, I know that.  I had the same concerns, considering how it is that we met, but I care about you very much.  As more than just friends.  It doesn’t matter to me the circumstances by which we were brought together.  What matters is that you have come into my life.”  Cas moved closer and reached out to take Dean’s hand.  He smiled when Dean turned his hand over and linked their fingers together.

 

“Cas, fuck, I think I’m in love with you.  I don’t want to scare you, but that’s how I feel.  It scares the hell out of me though.  I’m being honest here.  I never thought I’d get the chance to fall in love again, but you make my life better.”  It spewed from his mouth before he could stop himself, making him wince.  He wished he had at least a little bit of grace when it came to stuff like this.  Cas was smiling, though, so at least he hadn’t done too bad.  He hoped.

 

“Dean, I love you too.  I don’t know when it happened, but it did.  I’m not sorry either.  You’re probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

 

A lopsided grin rose up on Dean’s face, and he reached out to pull Cas even closer.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Cas touched Dean’s lips softly with his own.

 

“Yes.”

 

“So it’s safe to tell you that I invited you tonight as my date?”  Dean asked.  Cas laughed; he couldn’t help it.  Dean was adorable.

 

“I know.  I said yes for a reason.”

 

Dean brushed his nose gently against Cas’ before ducking his head to catch his lips in a tender kiss.  In the beginning with Mike, things had been based mostly on lust, not love.  Mike had been the sexy captain of the lacrosse team that Dean had lusted after for 2 years before the other boy even noticed him.  He hadn’t even been sure Mike was attracted to guys for close to a year, but rumors of a tryst or two reached him, and he had begun to hope that one day, Mike would really see him.  It was Mike’s senior year, his junior year before the other boy finally took notice.  Dean had spent the entire summer working in his dad’s garage and when he wasn’t in the garage, he was working out.  He’d finished out his sophomore year as a scrawny kid with freckles and a mullet (Hey, they were popular at the time!), and returned his junior year taller, filled out in all the right places, and his hair cropped and spiked.  That first week he’d drawn Mike’s attention, and things had been hot between them almost right from the start.  Mike had been his first…well, _everything_. 

 

Before Mike he’d dated a few girls here and there, but only because his friends were doing it too.  Mike was his first boyfriend, his first real kiss, the first person he touched, or let touch him intimately, and it only progressed from there.  It had been like a dream come true having Mike want him in return, and he truly did believe that Mike had loved him.  If he hadn’t, he certainly wouldn’t have stayed as long as he had.  The point his brain was trying to make was that with Mike things had happened so fast it had left him dizzy.  With Cas they had started out as friends and things between them had progressed very slowly.  He realized this was how a real, healthy relationship should be.  Learning what makes the other person tick, seeing what you did and did not have in common, finding out the other person’s flaws and seeing whether they were something you could deal with long term. 

 

So far, aside from Cas’ organized chaos in his office, there really wasn’t anything he disliked about the man.  Aside from how absolutely beautiful the man was with his perpetually messy hair and huge blue eyes, he was sweet, thoughtful, fun to be around, and very easy to talk to.  Looking back he realized belatedly that he really hadn’t had that much in common with Mike.  Mike had hated the fact that he loved playing video games, enjoyed watching shows like Doctor Sexy, and liked hitting the road at the spur of the moment just to feel the wind in his hair and the thrum of the Impala’s engine as he traveled down the open road.  But Cas enjoyed those same things, and so much more.  His brother had once talked about the importance of compatibility.  He realized now that that’s what he had with Cas.  Cas made him happier than he’d ever been before.  He could only hope to make Cas just as happy.

 

Dean brought one hand up to slide his fingers through Cas’ dark locks.  His hair was as soft as it was chaotic, but he loved that look.  He pulled him closer as he licked his way into the man’s mouth.  Cas kissed back eagerly as his hands locked onto the lapels of Dean’s flannel.  When they finally came up for air they were both left panting.

 

“We better get going if we’re going to get something to eat before we head to the party,”  Cas said as he sat back.

 

“I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone.”  Dean had that happy, lopsided grin on his face again.  Cas loved seeing him like that.

 

“As your date?”  He asked, testing the waters.  Dean’s smile turned shy suddenly as he got to his feet.  He offered a hand and helped Cas up.

 

“I was hoping as my boyfriend.  Or is that too presumptuous?”

 

Cas wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist and kissed his cheek softly.

 

“I was hoping you’d say that.  I think we’ve practically been dating all along; we just didn’t realize it.  I bet everyone else did though.”

 

Dean laughed as he led Cas to the coat rack by the door and helped him into his coat.

 

“Yeah, well, we’re definitely dating now, and we’re both aware of it, so we’ll focus on that, ok?”

 

Cas smiled and nodded.  “Ok.”

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“About time you got here!”  Charlie cried as soon as they were through the front door.

 

“Hey, it’s snowing again, and we had to wait for our Uber,”  Dean replied as he stripped off his coat.  He took Cas’ too.

 

“You didn’t drive?”  Charlie was following them down the hall to the room she always designated as the coat room when she threw winter parties.

 

“I figured if we’re drinking, it would be safer to get driven here than to drive my car or let him drive his.  This way we can both drink without worrying about crashing vehicles later.  Sam said he’d drive us back later anyway,”  Dean explained as he tossed the coats on the bed.  Charlie turned her attention to Cas and smiled.

 

“And you must be Cas.  Thought you’d be shorter.”

 

Cas cocked an eyebrow at the tiny redhead.

 

“Sorry to disappoint?”

 

“Nonsense!  You have the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going on.  There are going to be men and women all over you tonight,” she laughed.

 

“No one’s going to be all over him,”  Dean growled as he closed the bedroom door and slipped an arm around Cas’ waist.  “He’s here with _me_.”

 

Charlie narrowed her eyes at her friend as she attempted to figure him out.  Cas suspected she’d already had a few drinks by that point, but he wasn’t one to pass judgement.

 

“With you…how?  As friends?”

 

“No, we’re dating.”  Dean clarified.  Her eyes widened, and she squealed loudly enough to make Cas’ ears start ringing.

 

“Oh!  It’s about time!  I knew you were crazy about him!” 

 

Dean chuckled and relaxed his grip around Cas’ waist.

 

“Yeah, well, it’s kind of hard not to be.”

 

He could feel those blue eyes watching him, wide and full of awe, as though he couldn’t believe Dean would want him.  Smiling wide, he pulled the man close until Cas was pressed against him.

 

“So, who all is coming tonight?” 

 

“Oh, I invited so many people, I have no idea.  Sam’s coming, Jo, maybe Benny, Victor, Glenda, Cole, and like, 20 or so more.  I invited a bunch but I’m expecting maybe 10 or so since it’s a holiday.”  Charlie led the way back to the living room.  There was a skinny guy Cas didn’t know sitting on the couch, but Dean did.  He pulled away to go greet the man with a handshake.

 

“Hey, Garth.  I want you to meet Cas.  Cas, this is our friend Garth.  Couldn’t meet a nicer guy,”  Dean said.  Cas walked over to shake the man’s hand.  Garth’s open, friendly smile easily put him at ease. 

 

“Nice to meet you, Cas. Wait, you’re the blogger! I follow your blog!”  Garth’s face morphed into one of surprise that had Cas chuckling.  Dean was, too.

 

“That would be me.  I’m glad you like it.”

 

“It’s fantastic!  The issues you cover, more than a few of them have hit home for me.  Your 2010 blog entry about meditation and finding your center so you can find your center again, it helped me during a really rough time in my life.  I used some techniques you talked about and followed some of the links you had added and before I knew it, I was calmer, happier, and it gave me the confidence to pursue the job of my dreams.  I now teach economics at a private high school.”  Garth talked excitedly, like he was meeting a celebrity for the first time, and Dean was more than a little amused.  Sure, he’d been a little awestruck himself when Cas had first messaged him.  It made him wonder if Cas was a bigger deal than he’d first realized.  Cas was genuinely humbled though and quickly launched into a conversation about the benefits of meditation and yoga. Dean listened, even though he’d never meditated a single day in his life.  If it helped people, it was worth considering.  Charlie was giving input too.  Dean hadn’t realized she was into that kind of thing too.  He felt out of the loop. 

 

The doorbell rang, and Charlie excused herself to go answer it. 

 

“Hey!”  Jo said happily as she walked in.  Her smile widened when she spotted Cas standing with Dean.  “Good to see you again, Cas.”

 

“It’s nice seeing you as well, Jo.”  He accepted her hug and watched as she hugged Dean too.  Dean had brought him back to The Roadhouse two more times, but they hadn’t drank like the first time.  Instead, they had enjoyed a few beers with their dinner and then left.  It had been at least three months since they’d been back though.  There was a smirk on her lips the next time she looked at him.

 

“So, Benny’s coming.  He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

 

“Oh, that’s nice.”  Cas hadn’t said anything to Dean, or to Jo for that matter, about how the man had flirted with him that first night in the bathroom, or how he had asked Cas out the last time they had gone there for dinner, when Dean had excused himself to use the bathroom.  He’d politely declined, but he’d gotten the impression that Benny was a persistent man.  The fact that they hadn’t been back there to eat since gave Cas the impression Dean was aware Benny liked him and was jealous. 

 

Dean heard Jo’s comment and immediately looped an arm around Cas’ waist again.  Cas smiled as he leaned into him.

 

“So, you two finally decided to get together?” she asked.

 

“Yeah.  I’m stubborn but not entirely stupid.  I know a good thing when I see it, and Cas is the best.”  Dean kissed his neck, making the man shiver.

 

“We told one another how we feel.  I love Dean, and he loves me,”  Cas said.  Jo rolled her eyes as she accepted the glass Charlie was handing her.

 

“Well duh, I knew that already.”

 

Cas laughed and laid his head on Dean’s shoulder.  God that felt so good to do.  It had been ages since he’d been openly affectionate with another person like this and even longer since they’d wanted to be affectionate in return.  Gad had been so serious and apparently incapable of showing affection beyond simple hand holding.  Cas found himself wondering what had ever attracted him to the man in the first place.  Dean’s thumb was stroking his side, under his sweater but still over his shirt.  He found himself wishing it was skin to skin.  This was not the place for that though. 

 

The doorbell rang repeatedly for the next hour as more people arrived.  A woman Dean vaguely recognized had arrived with two men he didn’t know, but he didn’t like the way she kept looking at him.  Like he was lunch.  Cas had headed to the kitchen to get them both a drink so he was left standing talking to Cole about a catalytic converter they’d been trying to get a replacement for down at the shop when she started making her way over.

 

“Hi.”  She batted her eyelashes and smiled coyly. 

 

“Hey.” He smiled tightly. Cole had paused in talking to look at the woman too.

 

“It’s been a while since I saw you,” she said.

 

“I’m sorry?  Do I know you?”  He felt like maybe he knew her from somewhere, but not well enough to really remember her.

 

“Two years ago, New Year’s. You came with Charlie to that party downtown,” she replied.  It suddenly clicked for him and everything came rushing back. 

 

He’d still been wallowing in his self-despair after Mike had left so when Charlie had suggested he come to the party with her, he’d reluctantly agreed, mostly so he’d have access to free alcohol.  Once there, he’d proceeded to get thoroughly shitfaced.  At some point this woman (He still couldn’t remember her name.) had started flirting hard and heavy, and under the heavy influence of alcohol, he hadn’t resisted when she’d kissed him.  Huge mistake, but he’d left that behind in the past.  Charlie had stopped her and then taken him home.  He’d never expected to see this woman again.

 

“Oh, yeah, well, I really don’t remember much about that party.  I don’t make a habit of getting that drunk usually,” he said casually.  She moved closer, her hand coming up to rest on his forearm.

 

“Well, I could help you remember.”

 

“I don’t think we’ll be needing your help to remember a dark time in his life.”  Cas’ voice was a low rumble, full of warning as his icy glare fell on the woman.  He handed Dean one of the tumblers filled with ice and amber liquid.  Dean really hoped it was whiskey.  He pulled his boyfriend against him and Cas went willingly, his cold glare still on the woman who at least had the decency to drop her hand from Dean’s arm.

 

“I was on the rebound at that party and still nursing a broken heart after my ex- _boyfriend_ and I broke up.  I’m in a much better place now.”  Dean’s free hand was rubbing Cas’ back, willing him to relax.

 

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, sweetheart,”  Cole said with a laugh.  She glared at him a moment before looking at Dean again.  Without another word she walked away.

 

“Who is she?”  Cas asked.

 

“I don’t remember her name.  Charlie dragged me to a party at New Year’s a few years ago, and I was still a mess after Mike and I broke up.  She was apparently there too.  I tried to drink my way into oblivion, and she came on to me.  I guess I kissed her?  Or she kissed me.  I don’t really remember.  What I do recall is Charlie telling her to get lost and then driving me home.  I was sick for the next three days after that.  You don’t have anything to worry about though.”  Dean kissed his forehead, happy to see those blue eyes looking at him with nothing but love and joy in them.

 

“Oh, I know that.  I was never worried.  She just needs to know she doesn’t have a chance.”

 

Dean hid his smile against Cas’ neck as he hugged the man close.

 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” he whispered.

 

“Yes, well, so are you.  Don’t forget it,”  Cas whispered back. 

 

Dean picked up the conversation where he’d left off with Cole, and Cas listened for a little while before stepping away to speak to another person who recognized him.  He soon realized that he was the closest thing to a celebrity many of them had ever met.  When a familiar head of shaggy brown hair headed his way, he lifted his hand and waved.

 

“Hello, Sam, how are you?”

 

“I’m good.  How are you?”  Sam asked.

 

“I’m doing very well.”  Cas replied.

 

“I take it my brother is here.”  Sam looked around the crowded living room.  Definitely more people had come than Charlie had expected.

 

“Yes, he’s talking to Cole.”  Cas eyed the pretty woman at Sam’s side.  She had a slightly star struck look on her face.  He smiled and offered her his hand.

 

“Hello, I’m Cas.”

 

She quickly shook his hand.

 

“I-I know.  My name is Sarah.  I love your blog!” she blurted. 

 

“Thank you.  I appreciate that.” 

 

“I told you he’d be here.  Dean invited him,”  Sam told her.  He looked at Cas again, a look of curiosity on his face.  “The question is, are you here as his friend…or something more?”

 

Cas laughed, thoroughly amused by Sam’s deliberate lack of finesse.

 

“We’re dating, if that’s what you’re asking.”

 

Sam grinned wide.

 

“Yeah?  That’s fantastic!  He’s so nuts about you.”

 

“Well, I’m pretty nuts about him too,”  Cas admitted.

 

“That’s so sweet!  Will you be talking about that in your blog?”  Sarah asked.  Cas glanced back and saw Dean making his way over.  Somewhere he had lost the empty tumbler, so when he reached them he snaked both arms around Cas’ waist and pressed his chest up against the man’s back.

 

“Hey, Sammy.”

 

“Hey.”  Sam still had that goofy grin on his face.  Cas looked at Sarah, who was smiling wide at him and Dean.

 

“I like to share my life with my readers, and now with my watchers, and I will tell them I am seeing someone.  It’s up to Dean whether he wants me to say who I’m dating.  I would like to talk about how happy I am now, and how much better my life has become since Dean came into my life.  Readers were upset for me, but also for him, and they have been clamoring rather loudly for me to speak out after the appearance on Pamela’s show, and I’ve been trying to think of a way to do that.  So, while I would _like_ to do that, I am, as of yet, unsure how to approach the subject.” 

 

“I said I’d appear on your live blog with you, but maybe we could announce to the world that we’re dating,”  Dean murmured in his ear.  Cas smiled wide and leaned back against him.

 

“I like that idea.  I’ll figure out the best way to do that.”

 

“I’ll definitely watch!  I’ve actually been watching for years, and it just gets better and better.  I’m so sorry about what happened to you guys, but I’m so excited that you found your way to one another,” she gushed.  Dean’s arms tightened around Cas, and he kissed his neck again.

 

“Not half as happy as I am,” he said.

 

“Well, I’m glad you guys are happy together,”  Sam said.

 

“I’m very happy,”  Cas confessed.  And he was.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

Benny arrived later than Jo had predicted but seemed particularly happy to see Cas there.  He approached him in the kitchen, where Cas was talking with Charlie and Jo.

 

“Hey.” He practically purred. Cas had to admit, the man’s Cajun drawl was sexy, but he wasn’t attracted to Benny. Not in the way he was attracted to Dean.

 

“Oh, hello.”  Cas smiled politely.

 

“I wasn’t sure you would be here.  Did Dean bring you?”  Benny asked.

 

“He did.” 

 

“It’s good to see he has some new friends.  He needs that,”  Benny said.  Cas glanced over at Jo and Charlie, but they were watching to see what he would say.

 

“It’s more than that.  We’re dating.  Dean’s my boyfriend.”

 

A look of surprise flashed over Benny’s face that faded into one of disappointment.

 

“He’s a lucky man.  I didn’t realize you guys were more than just friends.”

 

“Are you blind?”  Jo asked jokingly.  They all laughed lightly.

 

“Maybe a bit,”  Benny admitted, and that got them all laughing even more.  “So where’s your boyfriend then?”

 

“Last I saw, he was in the living room talking to Sam and Garth,”  Cas replied.

 

“Oh?  Garth is here?”  Benny perked up.  “Excuse me, I need to go talk to him.  He owes me money.”  Benny wandered away, leaving Cas with Jo and Charlie once more.  He was more than a little buzzed by that point and very glad they’d gone out to dinner earlier. 

 

As the night wore on Cas was introduced to more and more of Dean’s friends and employees.  They were all incredibly nice and very happy to see Dean was in a relationship again.  It pleased Cas knowing they cared so much about their friend and wanted Dean to be happy.  When the pizzas arrived Cas and Dean both ate some, though Cas had to convince Dean to have some.  In turn, Dean cut off Cas’ shots after only a few so that he’d be able to stand up and walk out later.  Charlie had seen the way Amara (Dean had finally learned the name of the woman he’d kissed two years earlier.) was watching Dean when someone suggested some drinking games, so she had decided instead on popping a dance game into the Xbox.  Somehow Dean and Cas ended up together on the couch, Dean’s arm draped over Cas’ shoulders, Cas’ hand on Dean’s thigh and his head on Dean’s shoulder, talking softly.  When Sam found them he had to stop and smile.  They looked so incredibly happy, and he hated to interrupt them.  It was time to go though, so he tapped his brother gently on the shoulder.

 

“Hey, Sammy.  You getting ready to head out?”

 

“Yeah, actually.  It’s after 2, and I need some sleep before we head to Mom and Dad’s,”  Sam replied.  Dean nodded and slowly withdrew his arm from around Cas.

 

“Come on, handsome.  We’ll be able to sleep in some if we get going now.”

 

Cas yawned as he nodded, allowing Dean to pull him to his feet.  Though they had both switched to water an hour ago, he still had a slight buzz and swayed a bit once he was standing.  He smiled when Dean kissed his cheek and said he was going to get their coats.

 

“You guys are really good together.  I’ve never seen my brother so comfortable with anyone outside of our family.  I really think you’re good for him,”  Sam said once Dean was out of earshot.

 

“I want to be.  He’s good for me too.  I love him very much.”  Cas didn’t notice the look of surprise on the other man’s face.

 

“Yeah?  That’s awesome.” 

 

“Mmm.  I think so.”  Cas smiled happily.

 

Dean returned and helped Cas into his coat before slipping his own on.

 

“Where’s Sarah?”

 

“Right here!”  The brunette hurried over, and Sam helped her into her coat too.

 

“You going to be ok to drive home from Cas’ tonight or are we dropping him off first and then I’ll take you home?”  Sam asked as they made their way out to Sam’s truck.  Dean glanced over at Cas, who was just sober enough to know what that look meant.

 

“No, Dean will be staying tonight with me.  He can drive home in the morning after I feed him,”  Cas replied.

 

“Waffles?”  Dean perked up at the idea of breakfast.  Cas smiled warmly.

 

“With berries, if you like.”

 

“Hell yes!”  Dean did a fist pump, which had everyone laughing.

 

The ride to Cas’ was only about ten minutes, and Cas curled into Dean’s side in the backseat the entire time.  Once they reached his building they said goodnight to Sam and Sarah and headed up to Cas’ condo. 

 

“You’re sure you want me to stay?”  Dean asked, hovering near the door like he expected Cas to suddenly change his mind and ask him to leave.  Cas rolled his eyes as he stripped out of his coat and hung it up.

 

“I’m not changing my mind.  Now take your coat off.  I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted and I need sleep.” 

 

Dean closed the door and took his coat off, handing it over for Cas to hang up.  He took his shoes off and left them sitting beside Cas’.

 

“Bedroom’s this way.”  Cas murmured as he headed through the living room and made his way down the hall.  Dean followed, stripping off his flannel as they went.

 

“I need to use the bathroom.  All that alcohol needs to make an exit.”  Dean announced as they came upon the bathroom.  Cas smiled and stepped into the bathroom to flip on the light.  Dean had used the bathroom before but he had never lingered in there for long so he didn’t know where things were, besides the soap on the sink.  Cas reached into the cabinet under the sink to grab out a toothbrush.

 

“I buy in bulk because I use toothbrushes for cleaning the grout and tight corners on counters and stuff, so there are usually some extra.  This one’s brand new,” he said.

 

“Thanks.”  Dean kissed him, and Cas pointed to his room across the hall.  This was a two bedroom condo, and he always kept the bedroom doors closed.  The only one Dean had been inside of was the one he used for his office.

 

“Come into the bedroom when you’re done.  I’ll have something for you to sleep in.”

 

Leaving Dean to do his business, Cas walked across the hall to his room.  He stripped quickly and found a clean pair of pajama pants to put on, opting for a looser tee shirt to sleep in.  After tossing his clothes in the hamper, he dug another pair of pajama pants out for Dean and went about turning the covers down. 

 

“Uh, hey.”  Dean said softly from the bedroom doorway.  Cas smiled and pointed to the pajama pants at the foot of the bed.

 

“It can get a little chilly in here at night, but I figured flannel might be too warm.  These should keep you warm.”

 

Dean moved into the room and laid his flannel over the top of the laundry basket and started on his belt.

 

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.  My turn to eliminate all of the alcohol I drank tonight,”  Cas said as he headed for the door.  After relieving himself and brushing his own teeth, he returned to the bedroom to find Dean standing by the dresser, looking at the pictures hanging on the wall there.

 

“My family,” he said as he closed the door.

 

“Handsome family,”  Dean commented.

 

“Thank you.  My sister, we’re estranged.  But I’m close with my brother.  As you know, he’s also my lawyer.”  Cas came to stand beside him and look up at the pictures on the wall.

 

“Yeah.  Kind of funny that we both have brothers that are lawyers.  Even if they’re not in the same fields.  What does your sister do?”  Dean asked.

 

“She’s in the corporate world.  CEO or something.  She sort of disowned me when I came out, and Gabe too because he supported me.  She doesn’t come home for holidays or anything.  Just sends our parents a gift card each year.  And once a year they fly out to visit her.  It’s been made clear that I am not welcome in her home.  I don’t care though, we were never close.  She was a snobby bitch when we kids.  Gabe and my friend Meg were always more my family than Naomi.  You’ll meet Meg soon enough.  She lives in Cincinnati now, but she’s coming to visit around Easter.  I’ve…told her about you.  Not this, obviously, but she’s aware that we’ve become close.  I can’t wait to tell her though.”  Cas smiled at him, and Dean found himself smiling back.

 

“Well, you met pretty much all of my friends tonight, save for a few that don’t live close by or had other obligations. But I want you to meet them, too.”

 

“I look forward to it.” 

 

Cas moved over to the bed and after making sure Dean had enough pillows, he slid under the covers.  Dean looked nervous as he approached the bed.

 

“I’m not expecting anything from you, Dean.  Sleep, that’s it.  We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and I’d like you to hold me as I fall asleep.  Ok?”

 

Dean nodded quickly and got into the bed.  As he pulled the blankets up, Cas scooted closer.  Despite a night spent drinking and eating pizza, the man smelled clean, like toothpaste and soap.  He smelled wonderful. 

 

“You smell so good.”  He murmured as he wrapped his arms around Cas and pulled him closer.  Earlier he’d worried that he was putting his hands on the man too much, especially since they had only just established today that they wanted to actually be a couple, but Cas had leaned into his touch time and again, and even initiated it himself more than a few times.  Now, in this space that smelled so strongly of Cas, he wanted desperately to touch, but overstepping his boundaries was not what he wanted to risk.  He’d let Cas initiate the pace.  Something told him that the intimacy promised would be not only intense but beautiful as well.  That was something he would definitely wait patiently for.

 

Cas yawned and snuggled up tight against Dean until his head was tucked into the crook between his shoulder and neck.

 

“I want you to meet my parents.  Do you think you could come with me for a little while to do that tomorrow?”  he asked.

 

“I was thinking that I wanted you to meet mine too.  So maybe we’ll call them tomorrow and let them know we’re bringing someone with, so they know we have to visit both houses.”  Dean ran his fingers through Cas’ hair and smiled when the man practically purred with contentment.

 

“I’ll call mine as soon as I wake up.” 

 

Dean kissed the top of his head.

 

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome! Thank you for reading.


	6. Mama's Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas have decided to take one another home to meet their families. One parent is less than enthusiastic though, and it threatens to ruin the entire day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So today I submitted the first draft for the Supernatural Megabang. I of course went with Destiel, in an AU. Picture stripper Cas. Nuff said! I went with the megabang instead of the bigbang, and I just turned in 75k words. I am figuring it will be around 150k to 175k by the time it's all finished. I'm aiming for it to be a thriller with lots of smut and fluff. So get ready, that is coming up in July. 
> 
> I had to work on that today, so I could turn it in, but here I am now, putting this chapter up for you all. I hope you like this. :)

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485724789.jpg)   


 

 

**December 25~**

 

Dean woke first, momentarily disoriented when he realized he was not in his own bed.  When he tried to move he found that he couldn’t, not with the body lying half on top of him.  He relaxed and smiled when he looked down and saw Cas asleep, his cheek smooshed against Dean’s chest, his hair messier than it had been before he’d gone to sleep, and his mouth slightly parted.  If he wasn’t already in love, that right there might have pushed him over the edge and had him falling, head over heels.  He ran his fingers through those dark locks and watched as Cas’ eyes began to flutter.

 

“Time?”  Cas asked thickly.  He hadn’t moved from his spot, but he had at least opened his eyes.  Dean stared deep into his eyes.  It always felt like he could get lost in a sea of blue, and he found that he wanted that. 

 

“No idea, and I can’t reach my phone cause I left it across the room in my pants.”

 

Cas groaned and rolled off of Dean to grab his own phone on the far nightstand. 

 

“It’s 10.  What time are you expected at your family’ house?”

 

“Uh, there’s not really a set time, but my mom serves dinner right around 2 on Christmas.  We open gifts right after we eat.  So, we could be out of there by like, 4:30, maybe?  Does that work?”  Dean turned his head to look at him.

 

“Actually, yes.  My parents expect us to be there at 6 for dinner.”  Cas was busy texting someone as he talked to Dean.  When he set the phone aside he rolled onto his stomach and folded his hands under his head.  He looked up at Dean and smiled.  “I slept really well.”

 

Dean had to pee, but it wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying this moment.  He laid back and rolled on his side to face Cas.

 

“I can’t remember the last time I slept that good.  I’m kind of not ready to get out of bed yet.”

 

Cas chuckled.

 

“Me either.  How about we put off breakfast at least for a little bit and just lounge around some?  Except, I really have to pee.  I’ll be right back.”  He got up and left.  Dean listened to the toilet flush and the sink turn on.  When the bathroom door opened, he got up.

 

“My turn.”  He stole a kiss from Cas as he passed him, smiling at the taste of fresh toothpaste.  Brushing his own teeth was a good idea.

 

When he returned to the bedroom Cas was stretched out on top of the covers, one arm behind his head as he gazed at the snow falling just outside his window.

 

“Not that we weren’t already going to have one, but it’s going to be an even whiter Christmas.”  He crawled across the bed, and when Cas looked up at him he leaned down to kiss him. 

 

“Merry Christmas.”  Cas gasped when they broke apart.  Dean grinned.  This was the best Christmas he’d had in a long time.

 

“Merry Christmas, Cas.”

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“So this is Cas.”  Mary shook hands with him before accepting a kiss on the cheek from Dean.

 

“It’s nice to meet you.  Dean has spoken so very fondly of you.”  Cas said politely.  She helped to take the gifts that Dean was loaded down with and motioned towards a coat rack.

 

“I’m so glad Dean wanted to bring you home to meet the family.  You can hang your coats there.  John just built it.”  Her voice and smile seemed forced to Cas.

 

“Looks really good,”  Dean commented as he hung his coat and then helped Cas out of his.  He motioned for his boyfriend to take his shoes off as they were covered in snow, and they set them on a mat by the door.  Mary was already depositing the gifts under the tree when they walked in, and Sam was sitting on the couch.  He shot to his feet when they walked in.

 

“Cas!”

 

Cas smiled warmly.  “Hi, Sam.”

 

Sam looked at his brother, his jaw slack with shock.

 

“You brought him!”

 

“Yes, as you can see, he is right here beside me.” Dean made a grand sweeping motion towards his boyfriend, which just earned a bitch face from Sam.

 

“Boys, be nice,”  Mary warned.

 

“Sorry, I just…I didn’t realize Cas was going to be here.”  Sam sat back down, and Cas came around the couch to sit beside him.

 

“We decided on it last night but didn’t text anyone until this morning.  I didn’t want to wake Mom with a text at 3 a.m.,”  Dean explained as he moved to help his mom with the presents.

 

“Yeah, good point,”  Sam agreed.

 

“Did you not bring Sarah?”  Cas asked.  Sam’s cheeks flushed slightly at the question.

 

“Uh, she is going to try and stop by later.”

 

Cas felt like the welcome from Dean’s mother was rather cool, and he didn’t know if he should say anything more.  He opted to stay quiet until someone spoke to him.  When a man dressed in flannel and jeans walked in, Cas debated on whether or not to stand up and greet him.  Thankfully Dean came over to introduce them.  He motioned for Cas to stand up, which he did.

 

“Dad, this is Cas.  Cas, this is my dad, John.”

 

Cas smiled politely and offered his hand.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Winchester.”

 

John smiled as he bypassed his recliner and came over to shake his hand.

 

“Yeah, Mary told me you were coming.  Nice to meet you too.  You’re Dean’s new boyfriend, right?”

 

Cas nodded.

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“He treating you good?”  John winked at his son, and Cas relaxed.  This was a much warmer reception. 

 

“Yes, very well.”

 

“Good.  Remember, that goes both ways if you want a relationship to work,”  John said.  Dean sighed heavily, and when Cas looked at him he could see him rolling his eyes.  Apparently this was the “dad” lecture.  What was funny was that they would probably get a similar one from his parents later tonight.

 

John sat down in his recliner and Mary headed to the kitchen.  Dean followed her, so Cas sat back down with Sam.  When John struck up a conversation about football, he relaxed more.  He enjoyed the sport and joined in.  Hopefully Mary would warm up to him soon.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“You just started dating him and you brought him home for _Christmas_?”  Mary chided softly, not wanting her words to carry out of the kitchen as she checked the roast in the oven.

 

“What, do you think I just met him or something?  I told you months ago when we met.”  He was pissed at her attitude.

 

“You didn’t tell me you were _dating him_!” she hissed.

 

“If you want me to leave, keep insulting me like that.  I wouldn’t date just anyone, and you know that.  Not after Mike!  It’s a unique situation that brought me and Cas together, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.  He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m not risking losing him because _you_ don’t have faith in my judgement.  He didn’t deserve your cold shoulder earlier.  He’s a good man.”  Dean barely managed to keep his voice down, but his anger was ready to make him blow.  When Mary stood back up, she had a deep scowl on her face.

 

“Dean, I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

 

“And I won’t.  I’m a big boy, mom, and Cas…he gets me.  He went through the same thing I did, but probably worse since he had no clues before his ex just up and left him.  At least I knew Mike was acting suspicious.  He had no warning, and after that he was left to clean up the pieces.  If anyone is going to get me, it’s that man in there.  And I get him.  God, Mom, he’s so fucking wonderful; I just want you to give him a damn chance!  _I love him_!”

 

Mary blinked in surprise. 

 

“You love him?”

 

“So fucking much.”  His throat tightened, and he blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill. He was angry. Something over his shoulder caught his mother’s attention, and he turned to see Cas and Sam standing there.

 

“I’m sorry, John said he wanted beer, and some kind of chips and dip that were in here.  We just came to get it,”  Cas said softly.  His eyes were locked on his socked feet.  It didn’t take a psychic to know he was upset and uncomfortable.  Dean went right to him and pulled him into his arms.  He half expected Cas to pull away but instead he clung tightly to him.

 

“I didn’t mean to make this difficult.  I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.”

 

He was crying and that upset Dean even more. 

 

“Why, Mom?  Cas isn’t Mike!”  Sam snapped. 

 

“You didn’t ruin anything.  I’m sorry, baby.  Come on, we’ll go.”  Dean started to lead him towards the door, but Mary hurried over, placing a hand on both of their arms.

 

“Please, don’t leave.  I’m so sorry, Cas. I just…”  She had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with them.  “He was just so _hurt_ …”

 

“I get it.  That’s something that Dean and I spent a lot of time talking about and bonding over when we first started talking.  But Dean’s right.  I am not Mike.  I’ve never hurt someone like he hurt Dean, and I would never hurt anyone like that.  Dean and I make a point of never comparing one another to our exes.  I don’t think either of us considered the possibility that people we know and love would do that instead.”  Cas looked at her for a beat before turning to Dean.  “Do you want to leave?”

 

“Do _you_?”  Dean countered.  Cas looked at Mary again.  Her eyes were silently pleading for him to convince her son to stay.  And he wasn’t an asshole.

 

“No.  It’s Christmas.  We should stay.”

 

Mary grabbed him and hugged him tight.

 

“I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry!” she sobbed.  He brought his arms up and hugged her in return.

 

“I just wanted us to get off to the right start.” 

 

“I know. I was just scared.”  She was still crying and he hugged her tighter.  Dean joined in, hugging them both.

 

“I’ll get Dad’s beer.  You guys, take your time,”  Sam called out as he left the room.

 

It was another minute before the hug broke and everyone took a step back.  Mary wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

 

“Do you like beef roasts and baked potatoes?” she asked.  Cas smiled back.

 

“I love them.”

 

After that, things went much more smoothly.  John chided his wife gently over her behavior during dinner, and for dessert Mary served three different kinds of pie.  Dean ate a slice of each, much to Cas’ amusement.  From there they migrated into the living room.  As they were sitting down to open presents, Sarah arrived.  Cas expected to sit back and watch the Winchesters open presents, so when Mary handed him an envelope, he was more than a little surprised.

 

“If I’d had more time to get you something, you’d have more than this, but I wasn’t going to not give you something,” she said, glancing at Dean before adding, “We’ll do better next year.”

 

That sentence meant more to him than anything.  She expected him to still be around in a year’s time, and he wanted that too.  Dean’s arm came around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

 

“Yeah, and maybe next year we can do things a little different.  Bring both of our families together or something,” he said.  Cas was so happy in that moment.  They didn’t want to rush things but at the same time it meant everything knowing Dean saw the possibility of a future with him.  He opened the envelope and was thrilled to see it was a gift card for Starbucks;  $25 in coffee was in his near future.

 

“Thank you both.  This means a lot.  And I love coffee.”

 

Mary chuckled and pointed at Dean.

 

“I told him the best I could do on such short notice was a gift card, so I asked him what one you might like best.  He said you love your coffee.”

 

Cas grinned at Dean.  The man listened when he talked.  That meant a lot.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

The rest of the gift giving went faster than Cas had expected.  Mostly it was clothes and movies being exchanged, but it seemed to make everyone happy.  Sam gave Dean a couple of new video games that had the man excited and Cas had to admit, he hoped Dean brought them over so he could play too.  When it came time to leave, they were sent home with plenty of leftovers and an entire apple pie.  They made a stop at Dean’s house to drop stuff off, and so he could change into new jeans.  He had borrowed a pair of Cas’ and it was clear the man had a way better body than he did because Cas’ pants hung on him.  His own legs were skinny, but he hadn’t realized just _how_ skinny until he’d tried to wear his boyfriend’s clothes. 

 

“I’ll wash your pants and get them back to you soon,” he promised after he’d slipped into a better-fitting pair.

 

“There’s no rush.  You looked good in them.”  Cas teased as he slipped his hands into the back pockets of Dean’s pants and pulled him close.

 

“You have better legs.  They hung on me.  They look way better on you.”  Dean took a moment to kiss him.  It was new, getting to kiss Cas, but he knew it was something he would never grow tired of. 

 

“I’ll politely disagree.  Is the food all saved?”  Cas asked.

 

“Yeah.  Now we head to see your parents.”  Dean took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  “What are the chances your parents will put me through the wringer like my mom did to you?”  He was nervous. 

 

“It’s doubtful they will.  They’ll be more about making sure you’re treating me right and that we’re happy.  My brother is who you might get an attitude from, but he knows about us.  I made sure to message him too this morning to tell him that we’re dating and that I’m bringing you home.  I also warned him that I won’t take his shit.  He’s rather protective of me, and until I met you, he was the person I confided in the most about what I went through.  Not even my best friend knows all the details. I just couldn’t keep rehashing out over and over for different people.  I let it out in my blog, but aside from that, I talked to my brother.  He’s a good man and once he warms up to you, I think you’ll like him,”  Cas said.

 

“Well, I hope he realizes I’m nothing like Gadreel.” 

 

Cas snorted.  “Two seconds of talking to you and he’ll realize you’re nothing like Gadreel.  Trust me.”

 

They made the drive out to Cas’ parents’ house in just under an hour.  It was a few minutes after six when they climbed out of the Impala and made their way up the freshly shoveled walkway to the porch.

 

“I think they sent my brother out here to shovel,”  Cas mused.  “I’m glad he got here first.”

 

Dean laughed as he followed Cas up the stairs.  Without knocking, Cas opened the front door and walked in.

 

“Hello, I’m home!” he called out.

 

“Cassie?”  a man called from somewhere farther into the house.

 

“Just got here, taking off my coat.  I’ll be there in a minute!” 

 

Cas set down his bag of gifts and took off his coat.  Dean did the same, and Cas took them both to hang in the hall closet. 

 

“Shoes off.”  Cas instructed.  They stripped their shoes off and set them on a rubber mat inside the closet.

 

“Where is everyone?”  Dean asked as they gathered the bag up again and headed into the main part of the house.

 

“Mom’s probably in the kitchen, my dad and Gabe are probably watching football,”  Cas replied.

 

“Ah, so basically what happens at my parents’ house.”  Dean laughed.  Cas grinned and nodded.

 

“Exactly.  It’s why I was able to talk easily with your dad about football.  Come on, we’ll go say hi to my dad first.”

 

They stepped into a den that was straight out of Dean’s fantasies.  There was a fireplace, complete with a crackling fire, a 50-inch television mounted above the mantel, and leather recliners.  Four in total.  A thin man with blue eyes stood up from one of the recliners when they walked in.  In a second recliner sat a man with dirty blonde hair.  He remained seated but had lowered the foot rest. 

 

“Hey, I thought I heard you come in.”  The man with the blue eyes hugged Cas tight before stepping back to offer Dean his hand.  “It’s nice to meet you, Dean.”

 

“It’s very nice to meet you as well, sir,”  Dean replied politely.

 

“Dean, this is my dad, Chuck.  This dork who doesn’t even want to be polite and stand up is my brother, Gabe.”  Cas shot his brother a look and the man finally stood up.  He walked over to offer his hand as well.

 

“Hey.  Cassie has told me a lot about you.  Frankly, I’m surprised you guys weren’t dating a lot sooner.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Gabe.  Cas talks about you too,”  Dean said as they shook hands.

 

“Where’s Mom?”  Cas asked.

 

“In the kitchen,”  Chuck replied as he returned to his chair.

 

“Come with me; I’ll introduce you.”  Cas left the bag of gifts in the corner and took Dean’s hand.  They headed towards the kitchen.  The soft sounds of the Carpenters could be heard as they walked in.

 

“Hey, Mom.”  Cas walked over to a woman standing by the oven stirring something in a pot.  The moment her eyes landed on her son, her entire face lit up. 

 

“Cassie!”  She dropped the spoon and pulled him into a hug.  He laughed as he hugged the woman back.  When he finally extricated himself from his mother’s grasp, he turned and held a hand out.  Dean crossed the room to take it.

 

“Mom, this is my boyfriend, Dean Winchester.  Dean, this is my mother, Rachel.”

 

“Oh, boyfriend!”  she exclaimed excitedly.  “Really?”

 

“We only recently made it official,”  Dean said.

 

“Still, it’s wonderful knowing my son has found someone he feels he is compatible with.”  She offered Dean her hand and smiled warmly.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he relaxed.  Rachel was very nice.

 

“So, Cassie tells me you like pie.  I had planned to just make pumpkin, but when he said that I ran to the store and picked up some things to make another one.  Do you like berries?” she asked.

 

“I do, but really, you didn’t have to go through the hassle just for me.”  Dean was moved by the gesture.

 

“Oh it was no problem at all!  I’m just glad Walmart was open.  Though I feel bad for the people stuck working.”  She tapped her chin thoughtfully.  “And I enjoy baking.  I don’t get to do nearly enough of it.”

 

Dean figured some of Cas’ cooking and baking skills had probably come from his mother.  Though his own mother had irked him earlier, it brought back fond memories of working in the kitchen as a boy with his own mom.  She had taught him how to make a myriad of pies and other pastries.

 

“So what do you do for a living, Dean?”  Rachel asked as she returned to stirring what looked like gravy.

 

“I own a custom restoration shop.  We restore antique cars.”

 

“Is that a lucrative business?”  She turned to look at him, and he could see where Cas had gotten his blue eyes from.  Where the dark hair came from was a question for later.  His mom’s hair was a beautiful shade of blonde, even lighter than his own mother’s.

 

“It is.  Especially in the months leading up to the car show season.  We should be picking up in business very soon,” he replied.

 

“Oh, that’s wonderful!  Chuck has a ’68 Stingray.  He wants to restore it but has no idea where to start.” 

 

“When did Dad get a Stingray?”  Cas asked.  By his tone Dean didn’t think he knew at all.

 

“Oh, two months ago maybe?  Bought it at an auction.  It’s basically a shell though.  Doesn’t run, they had to tow it here,” she explained.

 

“I can take a look at it, give an estimate for repairs and restoration.  Antique cars are my passion.”  Dean was actually excited to get a look at the car.  He’d never seen a Stingray that needed a complete rebuild.

 

“Talk to Chuck about it.  I’m sure he’d be happy to take you out to the garage to show it off.  Gabe doesn’t have an interest in cars so he tunes his father out.  Cas has always listened, though I’m not sure he always understood what his father was talking about.”  She smirked at her son, who blushed and looked away.

 

“I know the parts.  Just maybe not how to put them together,” he grumbled.

 

“I could always show you.  If you’re interested.”  Dean liked the idea of afternoons spent working on a car with someone that was actually interested.  Cas smiled and slipped his hand back into Dean’s.

 

“I would like that very much.”

 

“Where’s the tree?”  Dean asked as they made their way back to the den.

 

“Oh, my parents don’t put one up anymore.  My dad fell and broke his back a few years ago, so he has a steel rod that prevents him from bending easily, so he’s in pain a lot, and my mom works so much that the idea of putting one up by herself is pretty daunting.  So they stopped.  She’ll sometimes put lights on the porch railings if she has time, but most of the time she settles for having her family together and cooking for us at Christmas,” Cas explained.  Dean had thought Cas’ mom was a stay at home mother.  Not that there was anything wrong with that, it was just kind of rare in that day and age.

 

“What does your mom do?  And your dad?”

 

“Mom is a neurosurgeon; dad’s a writer.  Has a couple dozen books out.  Nothing I think you’d like to read.  I don’t even read them.  He hates that.”  Cas laughed.  Dean chuckled.

 

“Well, maybe next year…”  Again that thrill raced through him.  “We could come a few days early since they’re not that far, and put the tree up for them.  Decorate it with your folks.  It’s a family tradition for us.  I went after Thanksgiving with Sam, and we helped put the tree up and decorate it.”

 

Cas smiled wide.  “Yes, I think my mother would appreciate that very much.”

 

Back in the den they sat down in the two remaining seats.  Dinner was running late and Rachel had booted them out of the kitchen so they found themselves watching a football game with Chuck and Gabe.  While they all talked from time to time about the game, Cas and Dean mostly talked quietly about their plans for New Year’s.

 

“What’s that?  You guys doing something for New Year’s?”  Gabe asked.

 

“You’re nosey.”  Cas rolled his eyes in his brother’s direction, but Gabe ignored it.

 

“I’m taking Kali to a party my firm is throwing.”

 

“Speaking of, why didn’t you bring her today?”  Cas asked.

 

“She’s not Christian.  Doesn’t celebrate Christmas.  She is actually on a family vacation in Barbados right now.  She’ll be back the 30th,”  Gabe replied.

 

“My aunt throws a party every year at her place.  It’s a bar and restaurant.  I didn’t go last year, and the year before I let my best friend drag me to some other party, but…I’d like to go this year, and bring Cas.”

 

“I’d love to.  And maybe…,”  Cas’ fingers were walking slowly up Dean’s arm as a slow smile formed on his lips,  “maybe you could spend the night on the 31st?”

 

“Yeah!”  Dean caught the chuckle from Gabe and quickly toned down his enthusiasm.  This was the first time Cas had really openly flirted.  Dean cleared his throat in a pathetic attempt to look like he was keeping his cool.  “That, yeah, that would be great.”  He said in a much more subdued voice.  Cas was smiling ear to ear as he reached out to grab the front of Dean’s shirt.

 

“What about tonight?”  It was a barely heard whisper, but it was enough to spark arousal in Dean that threatened to make this entire evening awkward.  Especially with his boyfriend’s family sitting a mere few feet away.

 

“Yes, absolutely.”

 

Cas’ lips were on his and then gone again he didn’t even register what was happening until he heard Gabe groan from his seat.

 

“God, you’re going to be one of _those_ couples.”

 

When Dean looked over at him though he was smiling happily at them. 

 

“Dinner!”  Rachel yelled from the kitchen.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“So, Dean, I know how you guys met, but I’m curious, what exactly drew you to my brother?”  Gabe asked.

 

“He was probably one of the nicest people I’d ever met, in person or online.  There were no pretenses with him.  It was more than just that video.  While it might have started out as just a shoulder for one another to lean on, he very quickly became one of my best friends.  I knew pretty early on I had feelings for him but since I didn’t know how he felt, I ignored them until I was sure he felt something back.  I guess that somewhere along the way, I fell in love.  He’s really, really hard not to do that with,”  Dean replied, open and honest.  Rachel was smiling ear to ear, and even Chuck had a grin on his face.  Gabe nodded in approval.

 

“Yes, Gabe, before you ask us if we’re sure we’re in love, the answer is a resounding yes.  What I have with Dean, it’s different.  It’s _better_.  I hadn’t realized there was a ‘better’ even possible. I’m happy.” Cas seemed to cut into his brother’s train of thought, stopping the man from making any snide remarks.

 

“That’s wonderful.  I’m glad you two are happy.  You’re ok with the whole blogging?  Does he talk about you on there?”  Chuck asked.

 

“My dad read the first few blogs after I started putting them up, but then he stopped. Says I put too much new age stuff on there that he can’t follow. But my mom and Gabe read it,”  Cas explained.  Dean nodded in understanding.  Cas turned to answer his dad. 

 

“Yes, he is ok with the blog, and I do talk about him.  I have not put up the new one talking about this new progression in our relationship, but that will go in Monday’s.  He’s actually going to come sit in with me for one soon, and we’ll talk about our relationship as far as what we’re willing to share.  Some things I just don’t want to talk about.” 

 

“Don’t let anyone push you to talk about anything you don’t want to talk about.”  Gabe pointed a fork at his brother as he spoke.  “And don’t ever say anything about Dean on there until you’ve talked to him about it first.  Some things might embarrass him, or hurt him. Remember, people he cares about might be watching too, and there are always some things you don’t want your family to know, or that they just don’t want to know.  Like seriously, I cringed bad when you wrote that blog entry for that dildo review a few years ago.  Dude, that was not something I ever wanted to know about you.”

 

Cas blushed and ducked his head.

 

“Yes, I understand.”

 

“Yes, I skipped that particular entry.”  Rachel’s eyes were wide as she poured some more gravy over her turkey.  Chuck thought it was hysterical and burst out laughing.  Dean found himself laughing along.  Yeah, he’d read that one.  In fact, he had a few of the highly recommended dildos in his drawer at home…

 

Dinner was extremely pleasant and before they headed to the den to open gifts, Chuck snagged Dean, and they headed out to the garage. Cas followed.  Dean was like a kid in a candy store as he looked the car over.  He gushed over the frame, the leather interior that was still in pretty good condition, the engine was actually still in it, and he was certain he could restore it, and more.  Cas loved his enthusiasm.  He and his father both listened as Dean went over costs, expectations, labor, and resale. 

 

“I don’t think I want to sell her right away though.  I think I want show her at least a few times before I decide to sell her.  There’s this auction I go to a few times a year, and they almost always have cars like this that need some tender loving care to bring them back to their original glory.  If you’d like, I can take you with the next time I go.”  Chuck grinned when he saw Dean’s head nod eagerly.

 

“Yeah!  I would actually like to restore and sell a few, use the money on a house.  I still live in the same apartment I’ve been in since I turned 18.  I want more space, and a garage to park my cars in.  Preferably like a 3-car.  If I restore and then sell them I’ll have a good chunk of the house cost.  I could do the down payment now, if I wanted to, but I haven’t really looked to see if there are even any houses I like.”  He didn’t want to confess to his new boyfriend’s father that the reason he had put off looking at houses was because that was something he was supposed to start with Mike not long before he’d left.  The thought of house hunting for himself seemed pointless when the apartment served all of his current needs still.  Maybe down the road he would think about it. 

 

Back inside they walked into pure chaos.  The den was filled with gifts.  Rachel must have been hoarding them for months to have this many.  She was sitting in the seat beside Chuck now and Gabe was sitting in Cas’ chair with presents piled up around his feet.  He looked like a kid in a candy story and not the 36-year-old man that he really was.  Dean chuckled as he settled into his seat.  Rather than sit on the floor, Cas sat in his lap.  He happily wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and watched as Gabe began handing out presents. 

 

Dean was amused by just how happy and childlike the entire Novak family became with each new gift they were handed.  Rachel was excited over a new sewing machine Gabe bought her and a new book set she received from her husband. Cas had bought her a new mixer, something she had specifically asked for, and she screamed with joy as soon as she opened the wrapping paper.  Dean had never seen anyone get so happy over a kitchen appliance, but he loved seeing the woman like that.  Her joy was rubbing off on him too.

 

Chuck was apparently as big of a football fan as his own dad, and he received a signed jersey and season tickets from his sons.  He was immediately making plans to take both of his boys to games the following season, and they were both eager to go.  Gabe was excited over a box of candy Cas had gotten him, already tearing into it and practically shoving a chocolate bar into his mouth.

 

“My brother loves candy,” was all Cas said.  Dean just stared with a mixture of horror and fascination.  He was pretty sure that if he timed it, Gabe would win a world record with how fast he ate it.

 

So many gifts exchanged hands so quickly that it left Dean dizzy.  Cas snuggled back into him, content to open his own slowly, pleased and happy with everything he received.  When Gabe shoved a box at Dean, it caught him off guard.

 

“That’s for you, from all of us.”

 

Dean took the box and stared at it for a moment in shock.

 

“You…Cas just told you this morning that I was coming, and you bought me something?”

 

“So maybe I had more reasons to run to WalMart than just the fixings for a pie,”  Rachel said with a smirk.  Dean laughed as he reached around Cas to open it. 

 

“Oh…wow…”

 

“I asked Cas what you liked and he gave me a few ideas.  No one comes to our house at Christmas without receiving something, and he said you were special to him.  Because of that, you are important to us.  So please, accept it and we hope that you like it.”  Rachel told him.  Dean sniffled and used the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes.  They had gotten him the complete collection of Led Zeppelin, complete with three LPs.  He couldn’t wait to get home and play them.  The one album he did have, it had become warped and unplayable.  He hoped the sound on these was good.

 

“Thank you, I love it.  I can’t wait to listen to them.  I’m keeping the albums at home and taking the CDs to work.  This is perfect.” 

 

“I have a record player if you want to try those LPs out now.”  Chuck was already on his feet and walking to a built-in bookcase at the other end of the room.  Dean hadn’t noticed the record player until that moment.  Cas stood up so he could go put one on to play.

 

The smooth sounds of Zep began to play.  Damn it sounded good.  Dean returned to the chair and found himself with a lap full of sexy boyfriend once more.

 

“This has been a wonderful Christmas,”  Cas said as he settled back against Dean again.  Dean grinned wide. 

 

“Yeah, it really has been.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I have written an epilogue to this and I'm sending it to my beta for editing. So, the 32k I have finished for this, it'll be closer to 36k with the epilogue. That will cover a lot of Mike's POV. I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcome. :)


	7. Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas takes Dean to his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, exactly what it sounds like. SMUT.

[](https://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485910582.jpg)   


 

 

They left the Novak house at midnight, and only after prying themselves away.  Dean got the feeling Chuck would have kept them there forever, talking about cars and listening to music, and Rachel was just so happy to have her boys home that she had actually begged them to just spend the night in Cas’ old room.  Except there wasn’t a bed in there anymore.  They were both a little too old to crash on the floor comfortably.  So, after many promises to visit with more frequency (and they both made sure that Dean knew he was part of that promise), they left.  Cas was sleepy, dozing off on the ride back, but Dean didn’t mind.  It was the fullest his heart had felt in more years than he could remember.  Nothing could destroy his happiness.

 

Cas woke when Dean turned the car off.  He stretched, moaning at how good it felt.

 

“We are here.  Time to lug your 50 million gifts upstairs,” Dean teased as he got out.  He came around to open Cas’ door for him and then Cas was climbing out too.

 

“Yeah, they tend to go a little overboard at Christmas.  I think if they had some grandchildren, they would focus on spoiling them.” 

 

“Your sister doesn’t even have kids?”  Dean asked as he popped the trunk and they began pulling bags out.

 

“No, Naomi doesn’t want children.  Her life revolves around her career.  She doesn’t have time for a family.  Her words, not mine.”  Cas took half the bags, waiting for Dean to close the trunk before they started heading up to Cas’ condo.

 

At Cas’ instructions, everything was deposited on the couch.  He didn’t have the energy to deal with organizing and finding a place for everything he’d just been given.  Really, where was he going to put a Backstreet Boys Monopoly game?  Where the hell did Gabe even _find_ that?!  Dean lingered awkwardly by the couch, and he knew the man was waiting for him to take the lead.  While he was tired, he wasn’t too tired to shower some attention on his boyfriend.  Stripping his coat and tee shirt off, he tossed them on the couch.  There was a sharp intake of air and he looked up to see Dean frozen, eyes wide and locked on him.

 

“Come here.” 

 

He toed his shoes off and reached up to slide Dean’s leather jacket off his shoulders.  Dean’s brain finally caught up.  He grabbed Cas and kissed him, his tongue easily slipping in.  His hands toyed with the belt on Cas’ pants, waiting for permission to open it.

 

“Yeah, do it,”  Cas breathed the words against his lips.  Dean’s hands were quick, opening the belt and then the jeans.  He slid one hand inside, cupping Cas’ rapidly swelling cock right through his boxers.

 

“F-fuck!”  Cas gasped.  His hips thrust forward on instinct, pressing against Dean’s hand.

 

“The living room isn’t the place for this.  Come on, I want to get you horizontal.”  Dean withdrew his hand, much to Cas’ irritation, and led him to the bedroom.  He flipped the light on before pressing Cas back against the wall.  Cas’ hands scrambled to get Dean’s shirt off, but the moment it was over the man’s head, their mouths were back on one another’s again.  Dean pushed Cas’ pants down until he was forced to step out of them.

 

“Fuck, you are so beautiful.”  He murmured as he kissed his way down Cas’ jaw to his throat and then his shoulders. 

 

“Say that again,” Cas begged. Dean lifted his head and looked him in the eye.

 

“Cas, you are the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on.  And I’m not just saying that to get into your pants.  I love you; I want you.  Anyone that can’t look at you and see how gorgeous and amazing you are, both inside and out, well…,” he kissed Cas tenderly,  “they’re morons, and they don’t deserve you.”

 

His words seemed to spark something in Cas as he found himself spun and pressed back against the wall as his own pants were quickly opened and shoved down his legs.  Cas dropped to his knees, a sight Dean very much enjoyed, and began untying Dean’s boots.  Once he had them off, he grabbed Dean’s pants and yanked those off too.  It took grabbing the wall and holding on to stay on his feet. 

 

“I will admit, I didn’t think this through as well as I could have.  We just admitted feelings and I haven’t had time to go to the store and get condoms, and-”

 

Dean smiled as he pulled Cas back to his feet.  He hadn’t thought to get condoms either.  Hell, he was still reveling in the knowledge that he had told Cas he loved him, and had heard the same words in return.  Thoughts of sex hadn’t even played into that equation yet. 

 

“It’s alright, sweetheart.  Listen, we didn’t really have time for condoms, and stopping tonight to get some would have been pointless as most places are closed anyway.  So, I will do my best to please you tonight, with just my hands and mouth, and tomorrow I’ll run and get some.  Ok?  But so you know, I’ve not had sex since…”  It felt blasphemous to mention Mike’s name while standing here, mostly naked and sporting one mother of a hard on for his new boyfriend. “And I was worried that his cheating would have put me at risk so not long after he left, I went and got myself tested. I got tested every 3 months for a year after he was gone.  There’s no telling if Gad was the only person he cheated on me with.  I needed the peace of mind.  I’m clean.”

 

Cas laid a hand over Dean’s heart and leaned in to kiss him softly.

 

“I did have sex after Gad.  My brother told me to get back out there, start dating, but I just…nothing stuck.  I felt broken and unwanted until I met you.  But, I didn’t trust Gad after he walked out, or anyone else.  So I got tested.  I get tested regularly anyway since I donate blood regularly.  I’m clean too.”

 

“You are not broken.  You’re perfect just as you are.”  Dean pushed off the wall and walked Cas back towards the bed.  “If you trust me-”

 

“I do, I trust you.”  Cas fell back on the mattress when Dean nudged him.  He climbed onto the bed and together they laid down facing one another.

 

“So what do you want, Cas?  I want to give you whatever you want.”

 

Dean’s hand slipped under the waistband of Cas’ boxers and wrapped around his length.  He pumped his hand slowly, waiting for something more than a groan as an answer.

 

“Dean, I need more than just a blow job.  Please,”  Cas pleaded as he shoved Dean’s boxer briefs as far down his thighs as he could.  “I want you to fuck me into this mattress so that I feel it for days.  Can you do that for me?  Then maybe, if you’re up for it, I can ride you again when we wake up.”

 

Dean’s jaw dropped just a bit.  The flirting earlier had thrown him a bit but the dirty talk was truly surprising.  It was an absolute turn-on though.  He nodded and lifted his hips so Cas could get the underwear completely off.  Once he had Dean naked, he stripped his own boxers off.

 

“Tell me you at least have lube.”  Dean pushed him onto his back and moved so he was kneeling between the man’s legs.  Cas reached for the nightstand and opened the drawer.  Dean couldn’t help but smirk when he saw some of the dildos from that blog in there.  The bottle of lube was nestled between a huge silicone cock and a couple of slim vibrators.  He snatched it up and shoved the drawer shut.  Later he’d mention the toys and see if Cas was up for some playtime with them.  Now was not one of those times.

 

“Here.”  Cas handed the bottle eagerly to him.  As much as Dean wanted to take his time exploring every single inch of Cas’ body, it had been _nearly three years_ since he’d had sex and he was ready to burst.  He sent up a silent prayer that he could last long enough to get Cas off too.  Blue eyes, hooded, pupils blown wide with lust, were watching as he popped the top on the bottle (half full, he noticed) and poured some over his fingers.  What a sight this was.  It was something right out of his most recent fantasies, but better.  Cas’ body was lean but muscular, his thighs thick from all the running he did, his cock beautiful where it laid hard and leaking against his stomach.  With his free hand he dragged his blunt nails down one of those thighs before reaching behind Cas’ knee and pushing his leg up and out of the way more.  He rubbed one slicked up finger slowly around Cas’ rim, feeling it flutter under his touch.  Keeping his own eyes locked on Cas’, he breached the rim and slid in. Cas’ breath hitched slightly, but he maintained eye contact.  Dean worked his finger in and out a few times, feeling how Cas’ body eagerly pulled it in.  He slid a second finger in, which had Cas pushing down against them to pull them in more.

 

“Eager, huh, babe?”  Dean teased.  Cas brought a hand down to his own cock, stroking it lazily as he looked at Dean.

 

“I can be patient.  I know you’ll take good care of me.” 

 

That moved Dean.  He wanted to do everything he could to live up to Cas’ faith in him.

 

“I will take care of you.”  He leaned down to capture Cas’ lips with his own as he slid a third finger in.  Cas moaned into his mouth and, yeah, that was really, freaking _hot_.

 

Stretching Cas didn’t take all that long but he still took his time, being as careful as he could.  Cas had stopped stroking himself and was clinging to Dean like his life depended on it.

 

“I’m good, please,” he whimpered.  The sound shot straight to Dean’s dick. 

 

“Pillow.”  He managed somehow to get the word out, and Cas reached behind himself to grab one of the fluffy pillows.  He lifted his hips so Dean could slip it under him and then he let his legs fall to the side.  Dean was busy adding a generous amount of lube to his cock, and he took a moment to admire the sight.  Dean was stunning no matter what but right here, right now, he wanted the man more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. 

 

Dean lined himself up, leaning down to kiss Cas again as he pushed slowly in.  Cas was apparently a moaner, something Dean liked very much, and grabbing at Dean’s waist as he felt himself stretching to what felt like an impossible width as his body swallowed Dean’s cock down whole.

 

“Y-you’re fucking _huge_!”  He gasped once Dean was pressed up flush against him. 

 

“You ok?”  Dean forced himself to stay still.  He was too close already.  Cas swallowed and nodded.

 

“Feels good, but it’ll be even better when you start moving.”

 

Dean pulled back, freezing when he heard Cas hiss.

 

“No, honey, it’s ok, I’m ok.  I promise.”  Cas smoothed the hair back from Dean’s forehead as he finally started to move.  It was amazing, this kind of intimacy.  He hadn’t found this with Gadreel, and he hadn’t realized how badly he needed it until right now.  As Dean began moving faster, shifting just enough that he could hit Cas’ prostate on every thrust, Cas pulled him down into another kiss.  It was sloppy, mostly just them breathing into one another’s mouths than actual kissing.  Cas held on tight as Dean pounded into him and when a hand wrapped around his cock and began stroking in time with the thrusts, he screamed. 

 

“Oh, fuck!  Right there!  _Yes_!” 

 

Dean’s hips began to stutter just as Cas’ orgasm slammed into him and he found himself screaming until he was hoarse. He clenched tight around Dean’s cock and a few thrusts later had his lover coming too.  Dean gasped for air as he gently pulled out.

 

“Wow.”  He carefully rolled off of Cas and onto his back. 

 

“If I didn’t feel like I didn’t have any bones, I’d be game for a second round, but I currently can’t feel my legs.”  Cas turned his head to grin at Dean, which made the man crack up laughing.

 

“Yeah, I’m going to be feeling that for days too.  Think I’m gonna need to go get a massage.”  Dean knew his thighs and ass were going to be feeling that later, but damn if it wasn’t worth it.

 

“No need.  I’ll give you one hell of a massage in the morning.  How does a hot shower tonight sound?”  Cas asked.  Dean debated the benefits of a shower against just grabbing a washcloth and wiping them down.  The sweat cooling on his skin was sticky and the smell of sweat was pretty gross.

 

“Shower.  But you’re joining me.”  Dean swung his legs over the edge of the bed with a grunt and sat up.  When he looked back Cas was still lying there, looking just like he’d wanted to look: like he’d been fucked into the mattress.

 

“Come on, baby.  I want to clean you off.”

 

“I heard… _suck_ you off.”  Cas had a wicked grin as he slowly sat up.  Dean barked out a laugh and shook his head fondly.

 

“Well, I didn’t get to do that yet, so get your butt into the bathroom and we’ll see about making that happen.”

 

Cas got to the bathroom before Dean did.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

The sex was phenomenal, simply put.  Cas got a fantastic blow job in the shower and the following morning he did as promised, riding Dean hard and making it almost impossible for them both to get out of bed.  Another clean up, changing of the sheets and much needed massages followed.  While Cas sorted through his various presents, Dean went and got breakfast started.  Cas managed to find a spot for everything, even the Monopoly game, and once they had finished eating, they kicked back on the couch to enjoy a lazy day together. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Kudos and comments are always welcome.


	8. It's Too Late to Say Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going great between Cas and Dean. Their lives are wonderful and if it's possible, they're falling even more in love with each passing day. When Cas' car breaks down, a travesty since he has a mechanic for a boyfriend, he's left stranded. After calling Dean to get a tow truck, he sits back to wait for the tow truck and for Dean. 
> 
> When a sheriff's car pulls up behind him, he doesn't think much of it. A car broken down on an empty road is cause for investigation, except the man bending down to look in the window is the last person he ever wanted to see again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, do enjoy this. I happened to snag some fast food wifi in passing, so I am updating this chapter from a Wendy's where a toddler on the other side of the divider is raising my anxiety tenfold with his coughing. I am about to run out of here and hope I don't get sick. He won't stop coughing!
> 
> Uh, yeah, tiny bit of a germaphobe here. Can't help it when even a slight cold automatically sinks into my chest and gives me bronchitis that makes me stop breathing. I think I'm entitled to be wary! I want to scream at them to wash his face and hands and give him some Dimetapp. From the sound of the cough and the frequency with which he is coughing, they haven't given him anything, save for his chicken nuggets. Kid has to be 3 and is hacking up a lung. You don't bring a sick kid out in public like that, but hey, what do I know, I only raised two kids of my own....
> 
> Alright, enough griping. I need to escape Sir Coughs A Lot. I hope you like the mild angst in this chapter. We have one more after this one, and then the epilogue. I am OUT....

[](https://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1485908652.jpg)   


 

 

Dean went home that night, and Monday he stumbled into work with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bag with two breakfast sandwiches in the other.  He bypassed Kevin, his receptionist, and headed straight for his office.  He’d barely sat down before Charlie was bouncing in.

 

“So.  How was Christmas?  Get anything good?”

 

He perked up, suddenly remembering the Zep collection Cas’ parents had bought him.

 

“I sure did.  Cas’ folks got me this awesome Zeppelin collection, and it came with three LPs.”  He set his coffee and food down so he could pull the CDs out of his messenger bag.  “I plan to listen to these here.”

 

“Sweet!”  She snatched one from his hands and went to put it in the stereo.  He started on his food while she got the cd to play.  Soon the entire garage was filled with the music. 

 

“How about you?”  he asked.  “Anything good?”

 

“I got a few gift cards, a sweater, some games, the usual.”  She sat down in one of the chairs and crossed one leg over the other.  “So, you met Cas’ parents?  That’s like, big stuff, right?”

 

“I took him home too, introduced him to my parents.  Dad loved him right away because Cas likes football.  Mom was…”  Dean frowned.  “She has worried about me since Mike left.  I know it’s that she doesn’t want me getting hurt like that again, but I honestly don’t think Cas is that kind of person.  I don’t think he’s capable of doing anything like what Mike did.”

 

“He is nothing like Mike.  I like him tons better,” she said.

 

“Is that true?  No one liked Mike?” he asked.  There had been rumors but no one would be forthright with him, and that really irked him. 

 

“It’s not that no one liked him, it’s more that we didn’t see him as a good fit for you.  He was always so self-absorbed, and it always seemed like no matter how much you catered to his needs and doted on him, he didn’t appreciate it.  It never felt like he valued you.  So of the two, you were everyone’s favorite, not him.  I think even his own parents liked you better.”  She meant it as a joke, but she wasn’t too far off.  His parents had actually called and apologized after Mike had left.  He had promised them that they didn’t have anything to apologize for, it was all on Mike.  They still sent him a Christmas card each year.

 

“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on how he treated me, and I see how unhealthy our relationship was.  I wouldn’t have listened back then, but I know better now.  I’m happy.  Cas is great, and while I don’t want to get ahead of myself, I can definitely see myself being with him long term.  He’s seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me, aside from maybe opening this place.”

 

“That’s good.  It’s important that you are happy.  I like Cas.”  She slapped her thigh before standing up.  “So, I have some demos for the website that I want to run by you.  I’ll email them in a few, ok?”

 

He nodded around a mouthful of biscuit, egg, and sausage.  She bounced out of the room, leaving him to finish his breakfast in peace. 

 

The morning passed quickly, and that afternoon found him up to his elbows in grease as he helped Victor with a ’72 Volkswagen bus.  When he got home that night he was exhausted and the shower he took to scrub the grease out from under his nails felt amazing.  On and off all day he’d texted with Cas.  They had plans for dinner the following night, and Cas was coming over to his place.  He was too tired to clean tonight though.  After a quick dinner of grilled cheese he went through his bedtime routine and headed to his room.  There were texts waiting from Cas, and he smiled as he settled back into the bed to respond.  He fell asleep still texting. 

 

The next few weeks passed quickly but very pleasantly.  Dean found himself spending more time with Cas, usually over at his place.  They enjoyed a pleasant dinner out for Dean’s birthday, and for Valentine’s Day, Dean went all out.  He planned a romantic dinner at his place, complete with candles, roses, chocolates, and an autographed book by one of Cas’ favorite authors.  Cas was ecstatic over it, but his gifts to Dean were just as thoughtful.  He’d baked Dean two pies and bought tickets to see Kansas the following month.  And oh, the sex was _fantastic_!

 

In April they headed to the Winchester home for Easter.  This time Sam came alone, his relationship with Sarah having fizzled out.  Dinner was served at one and after several visits and bringing Cas with, Mary was much warmer and accepting.  For Mother’s Day they decided to do a barbecue at the Novak house and invite Dean’s family.  Dean manned the grill with Cas’ help and they enjoyed a day with good food and family. 

 

It was midway through June, as Cas was on his way home from the grocery store, that his car broke down.  Dean had been doing maintenance on it but had warned that it was going to need new radiator hoses soon.  He’d been putting it off, and now there was steam coming from under the hood.  He was still a good six miles from the house and there were eggs and other perishables sitting in the trunk.  The road he pulled over on was fairly quiet, and he grabbed his phone to call Dean.

 

“Hey, baby, what’s up?”  Dean was always so happy when he called.

 

“Um, you might be upset with me,”  Cas replied.

 

“Never.  Why, what’s going on?”

 

“The radiator hose blew.  I haven’t lifted the hood yet to look, but there is a ton of steam and the light came on telling me the car was overheating.  I am pulled over on county road 21, just past mile marker 163.  Do you think you could arrange for a tow?  Maybe come and get me?  Or I could call Gabe.”  Cas wanted to kick himself for putting it off, but his blog had been keeping him very busy lately.

 

“Stay put, I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.  I’ll have Bobby come get your car.  He has a tow truck at the junkyard.  I’ll see you soon.”  He could hear Dean already moving, heading out to his car.

 

“Alright.  I have groceries.  Decided to head up to Walmart rather than the IGA in town.”  They were in insulated bags, but the afternoon was proving to be a hot one and he couldn’t help worrying.

 

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,”  Dean promised.

 

They hung up and he decided to check his emails while he waited.  About 15 minutes later he heard the crunch of tires on gravel and looked into the rearview mirror to see a sheriff’s car pulled up behind him.  With a sigh he locked his home screen.  Figured a cop would be curious about a car stranded on the road in the middle of the afternoon.  The face that appeared in his open window though made his stomach clench painfully.

 

“Cas.  Are you having car problems?”  Gadreel asked.  His voice was still infuriatingly calm. 

 

“Yes, but I have it under control.  There’s a tow truck on the way right now.”  He couldn’t even bring himself to look the man in the eye, and Gadreel seemed to sense the tension.

 

“Are you alright?  Do you need a ride home?”

 

“No, thank you, my boyfriend is on his way right now to get me.  He’ll be here in just a minute or so.”

 

He didn’t miss the way Gadreel’s jaw clenched for a moment. 

 

“Oh, well, that’s good.”

 

Awkward silence fell between them.  Cas glanced at Gadreel’s hand but there was not a wedding ring on it.  He’d never been big on jewelry though.

 

“So, you still doing the blog?”  Gadreel asked.

 

That surprised Cas.  He’d thought Gad might still be reading it, or maybe watching the video blog.  If he wasn’t then he had no idea _who_ Cas was even dating.

 

“Yes, only now I’m doing a video blog.  I’m in negotiations for my own show too.  It will air on cable next year.”

 

Gadreel’s eyes widened.  “Wow, that’s…fantastic.”

 

“I think it is.  I’m very happy.”  He couldn’t resist getting a little dig in. 

 

Gadreel was still standing beside his car when the rumble of the Impala reached them.  Cas smiled brightly as he opened his door.  Gadreel got the hint and stepped back so he could get out.  Behind the Impala was a tow truck.  Dean pulled far ahead of Cas’ car, leaving room for the tow truck. 

 

“Did you open the hood yet?”  Dean asked as he made his way over. 

 

“No, I figured you’d do it when you got here,”  Cas replied sheepishly.  Dean snorted and walked over to the hood.

 

“Pop it, babe.” 

 

Cas leaned back into the car to do as requested.  Gadreel was still standing there watching, his expression unreadable.

 

“What’s with the human bear?”  Dean dropped his voice once Cas was back at his side so only he heard that.  Cas sighed and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

 

“That’s Gad.  He saw me pulled over and stopped to see if I needed help.  I think he stuck around to get a look at you.  He’s not reading the blog.  He has no idea who you are.” 

 

Dean was leaned over, checking the clearly blown radiator hose.  He kept his eyes on it as he listened to Cas.

 

“Are you ok?” he asked, glancing up at his boyfriend.  Cas smiled and leaned into his side.

 

“I am.  Are _you_ ok?”

 

“A bit pissed that he’s hanging around still staring at us.  Why do I get the feeling that he’s standing there looking for a reason to detain or even arrest us?”  Dean glanced up and sure enough, Gadreel was still standing there watching them.

 

“That’s just his face, Dean.  He’s always like that.”

 

“Geesh.”  Dean shook his head. 

 

Bobby backed the tow truck up, and Dean helped him get the car loaded onto it.

 

“Am I taking this to the shop?” Bobby asked.

 

“Nah, take it to the house.  I’ll work on it there,”  Dean replied.  They watched as Bobby climbed back up into the truck and left.  Turning around they found Gadreel still standing there.

 

“House?” he asked absently.

 

“Yes, Dean and I bought a house together. We just moved in last week,”  Cas replied. Gadreel had always been very composed and reserved, but that sure got a reaction out of him.  His eyes widened and his hands clenched at his sides. 

 

“You…you moved out of the condo?”

 

“Well, yes.  We wanted someplace bigger, so we can put in gardens and he has space to work on cars from home.”  Cas slid his hand into Dean’s.  “Dean owns Winchester Antique Car Restorations.”  And that really got a reaction.

 

“You’re with Michael’s _ex_?!”

 

Dean slid an arm around Cas’ waist and pulled him close.

 

“That’s none of your business.  Come on babe, we better get home so the groceries don’t go bad.  They’re still in the trunk.”

 

They left Gadreel standing there, staring after them as they climbed into the Impala.

 

“Are you sure you’re ok?”  Dean asked once they were driving away. 

 

“I’m fine.  My stomach twisted at first when I saw him at my car window, but then I realized I don’t feel a damn thing for him, so it didn’t matter that he happened to be the one to show up.  I noticed he’s not wearing a wedding ring, but that doesn’t mean much.  He never liked jewelry.”  Cas reached across the seat to take his hand.  “How are you doing?”

 

“I didn’t like how he was staring at us.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous.”  Dean sounded pissed.

 

“Maybe he was.  He’s the type that thinks it’s ok for him to move on, but not anyone else.  Screw him.  I was ready to settle down with a man that would have inevitably made me miserable.  I believe God intervened and brought me the man I was meant to be with.  He can be jealous all he wants, but my heart is taken.”  Cas lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of Dean’s.  His boyfriend smiled warmly at him.

 

“Yeah, I feel the same way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. I am now running away from the coughing child, but I'll check comments later!


	9. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pamela Barnes invites Cas and Dean onto her show to talk about their relationship. They're glad to get a chance to tell their side of the story to a wider audience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Thank you to everyone that has been following along. Epilogue will be from Gadreel and Michael's POV's, so get ready for that.

[](https://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1486071810.jpg)   


 

 

**Two Years Later~**

 

“Dean!  Look!”  Cas rushed into the kitchen where Dean was making dinner, waving his tablet around.

 

“What?”

 

“I got an email from _Pamela Barnes_!”  Cas exclaimed.  Dean quickly turned off the stove and yanked the tablet from his hand.

 

“What does she want?”

 

“She wants us to come on the show!  Apparently someone pointed her in the direction of my blog and she started watching the daily videos, and when I moved onto my own show, she started watching that too.  She’s a huge fan, but more than that, she knows that Mike and Gad are our exes and she thinks our story is interesting, and she wants to interview us!”  Cas was almost bouncing up and down, he was so excited.

 

“Wow.”  Dean knew it would be a wonderful opportunity for Cas’ show, but it could potentially do well for him as well.  He just wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to someone so famous about his ex, especially knowing millions of people would be watching.  Still, Cas was excited about this, and he couldn’t deny him his moment.

 

“Ok, when do we go?  I’ll need to know in advance so I can make sure the garage is covered.” 

 

Cas threw his arms around Dean’s neck and kissed him.

 

“This is going to be so wonderful!  We get to go to California and we can take some time to do some sightseeing, and we get to meet Pamela herself!  Plus whoever else she has on that day.  I’m so excited!” 

 

He took the tablet back.  “I have no idea when we go.  I have to work that out still, but I’ll let you know as soon as they contact me back.”

 

Dean watched him run back out of the room, chuckling to himself.  They were going to appear on the Pamela Barnes show.  He never in his life thought that would happen.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

It hadn’t taken the show long to get back to Cas, and then they were set to come on the show in three months.  Cas was on break from filming, and Dean took two weeks off so he and Cas could drive up and down the entire state.  It was their second vacation together (the first being when they decided to take a trip to the Bahamas for two weeks last winter) and neither of them had been to California before.  They were driving out there a few days early and doing a little sightseeing along the way. 

 

They arrived two days before they were set to appear and spent the time touring the city and taking pictures.  It was congested, the pollution messed horribly with Dean’s allergies, and it was expensive, but they were still having fun.  The day they were to appear on the show, they drove over to the studio, both with their stomachs in knots.  They were directed where to park and what door to enter, and they soon found themselves being led to makeup.  A woman tried in vain to tame Cas’ hair but eventually gave up, and Dean vetoed all attempts to put concealer on him.  In the end nothing was really done and they were led to the green room. 

 

“I hope she doesn’t surprise us with new questions.  I’m really not prepared for that.”  Cas murmured as he paced in front of the television that gave a live feed of the stage.  Right now, Matthew McConaughey was having a grand old conversation with Pamela about his newest movie. 

 

“Babe, sit.”  Dean held out a hand, but Cas just shook his head.

 

“I can’t, I’m too nervous.  I’m afraid someone is going to come in and sprint it on us that there will be a whole different line of questioning.” 

 

Dean stood up and walked over to pull him into his arms.

 

“Honey, it’s ok.  This is going to be an amazing experience that we’ll have to brag about to everyone later.”

 

Cas melted against him and sighed.

 

“You’re right.  I’m overthinking.  Hell, I go in front of a camera every day for my show, but it’s nothing compared to this.  I still do the blog out of fear that they’ll cancel mine.  This is more than a little intimidating.”

 

“You’ll do fine.  She’ll be charmed by you, and so will the audience.  Everyone will see the wonderful man that I fell in love with.”  Dean kissed his forehead tenderly, making the man smile.

 

“I’m so glad you responded to my tweet that day.”

 

“Me too.”  Dean agreed.

 

A man in a Metallica tee shirt (that automatically made him cool in Dean’s book) came to fetch them a few minutes later, and they walked out onto the stage holding hands to the roaring applause from the audience.  Dean didn’t think they deserved it, but he rolled with it.  Pamela was walking towards them, a warm smile on her face and a hand extended.  For a brief moment Dean was star struck, but then Cas was happily greeting her.  When she turned to him he shook her hand firmly.

 

“It’s so wonderful to have you both here,” she said.

 

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” he replied, smiling.

 

She led them over to the little couch beside her chair and they all sat down.  Immediately Cas reached out to take Dean’s hand.

 

“So, Castiel, you have a very successful blog and your own television show, True Cas.  I have to say, when I was told to take a look at your blog I wasn’t expecting the delightful, fun and informative experience it became. I think I sat there for about six hours straight watching various video entries that first night.  I actually went all the way back to the beginning of your written blog and read them all.  You’ve been through quite a lot and you shared it with your readers in a way that left them caring deeply for your well-being.  Quite often people get mixed responses from the people tuning in, whether it’s comments on a blog or critics on a show.  But you don’t seem to get too much negative criticism. Tell me, what is your secret?” she asked.  He chuckled.

 

“I don’t really have one.  I’ve just been really lucky.  My brother tells me I have a natural charisma, but I find myself to be rather awkward and socially inept in most situations.” 

 

“Well heck, I think everyone is to some degree.  I will say though, it doesn’t show in your blog or on your show.  You exude a confidence that is admirable.”  She turned to the audience and to his surprise actually did a little plug for his show.  He looked at Dean questioningly but only received an equally quizzical look in return.  Could she do that?  They weren’t on the same station.  But…her station owned his cable station.  That made sense.  When she turned back she had a slightly more serious look on her face. 

 

“Dean, you own a custom car restoration business, is that correct?”

 

“Yep.  Been the proud owner for eight years now,” he replied proudly. 

 

“If you weren’t so far away I’d be sending so much business your way.  You own Winchester Antique Car Restorations out in Lawrence, Kansas.  What is that like, restoring classic cars?  Was that what you always wanted to do?”

 

Dean was a little surprised by the line of questioning.  They’d been given a list of topics that might be discussed, and sure, his shop had been on the list, but he hadn’t expected her to actually bring it up like this.

 

“I have worked on cars since I was barely out of diapers.  My dad was a mechanic with his own shop, and he had me under the hood of cars by the time I could talk.  When I was 16 I helped him rebuild the car that I still drive to this day, my ’67 Chevy Impala.  Putting her back together and seeing how gorgeous she was when we were done, I knew that was what I wanted to do.  So, my dad helped me get my mechanic’s license and between him and my mom I started saving.  I worked on cars out of their garage and saved up every single penny.  Then, when I was 22 they gave me an amazing birthday present.  My dad found an auto shop in town that was going out of business and they put a down payment on it for me.  The money I  had already saved up went towards buying more tools and parts.  My friend Victor came on to work for me, and from there I built up my crew.  I hired my best friend to help me build my website, and she did an amazing job.  We’re now the Midwest’s most sought after classic car restoration business.  It’s been on my mind to expand, and I’m thinking about it.  Especially if Cas gets any more offers for bigger and better things.  Where he goes, I go.” 

 

She smiled warmly at them both.

 

“That’s something else I wanted to talk about.  It would seem that you two have quite an interesting story as to how you met.  A couple I had on two years back, Gadreel Davis and Michael Avery, the couple that had their proposal video go viral when Gadreel proposed to Michael at the Pride Parade.”  She pointed at Dean.  “You are Michael’s ex?”  He nodded.  She pointed at Cas.  “And you are Gadreel’s ex.” 

 

“That’s correct,”  Cas confirmed.  There were sounds of shock from the audience and some murmured words. 

 

“And you met on Twitter after a frustrated tweet asking people to stop sharing the proposal video and tagging you to it, is that correct?”  She locked eyes with Cas.  He nodded.

 

“Yes.  It was painful enough that he had broken up so abruptly with me, but to see him proposing to the man he’d left me for and then constantly being tagged to each reposting of that video, it felt like it was being rubbed in my face.  I just wanted it to stop.  It was a painful reminder at the time.”  He squeezed Dean’s hand and looked over as Dean lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of his.

 

“And you, Dean, you followed Cas on Twitter and saw the tweet?”  She was looking at him now. 

 

“Yes.  I was in the same boat, pretty much.  My friends and family kept sending me the video, and it popped up probably a 100 times on my Facebook wall.  I was angry and upset, just like Cas.  When I saw his tweet and realized he was feeling the same way I was, I reached out.  He then messaged me privately, and we exchanged emails.”

 

She nodded as she listened.  “And a friendship blossomed from there?”

 

“Cas was the only person that really understood, but he got a much worse deal than I did.  You see, Michael had started staying out late, picking fights with me over silly things, and then staying away overnight sometimes and blaming me for it.  I was hurt and confused, and didn’t know what I had done wrong.  We’d been together since I was 16 and he was 17, and we were engaged, so I didn’t know what exactly was happening between us.  One day he just told me he didn’t love me anymore, packed up his things and left.  It was devastating.  I thought we were going to spend our lives together, and suddenly I found myself alone.”  Dean found it much easier to talk about his breakup with Mike now.  It didn’t hurt anymore.  A small furrow formed between Pamela’s eyes, and he got the idea that she was trying to hide the fact that his story upset her. 

 

“And for me, I didn’t have a single clue that anything was wrong in my relationship with Gadreel.  One evening he took me out for a very romantic dinner, complete with wine and roses, and had we not already been engaged, I would have thought he was about to propose.  Instead, over dessert he told me he didn’t love me anymore and that he had met someone else and was moving out.  I was so heartbroken.  It nearly destroyed me, but I realized, after talking with my brother and my best friend that it was not me at fault, but him.  It took a while to heal and just when I was really starting to feel good again, that video popped up.”

 

Pamela pointed to the giant screen behind them where the video was playing.  People in the audience were shocked and now angry as well, a disgruntled murmur floating over them all.  After the video came Cas’ original tweet to his followers, and Dean’s response.

 

“So you became friends.  What changed?” she asked.

 

“I got to know Cas.  He was funny and understanding, but much more humble than I’d anticipated.  I couldn’t understand why Gadreel would give up someone as amazing as him.”  Dean smiled shyly.  “I also thought he was drop dead gorgeous.”

 

Soft laughter rippled across the audience.

 

“I knew I was attracted to him, but he had become one of my best friends, and I really did enjoy spending time with him.  We met around May and by Christmas I had come to the realization that somewhere along the way, I’d fallen in love with him.”

 

The audience cheered and clapped.  Dean blushed and ducked his head. 

 

“And you, Cas?  When did things change for you?” she asked.

 

“My attraction to Dean was immediate.  I mean, look at him, he’s gorgeous.”  Cas grinned at Dean, who blushed even harder.  The audience laughed louder and some woman near the back yelled an agreement, which just got everyone laughing harder.  “But it was so much more than that.  He was so sweet and kind, and it was impossible not to like him.  I’d never met anyone so thoughtful and gentle in my life.  I knew I was falling for him but the realization that I was in love with him came as a bit of a surprise.  I was scared he didn’t feel the same, but other people in my life assured me that my worries were unfounded.  Christmas Eve we actually confessed our feelings, and the following day he took me home to meet his family.  I did the same that evening.  I was trying not to think really long term though.  While I knew he wasn’t anything at all like Gadreel and I knew he wouldn’t hurt me by just up and leaving suddenly, I couldn’t help but have that same sort of irrational fear lingering at the back of my mind.” 

 

“And now?  Do you still have that fear?” she inquired.

 

“Absolutely not.  What Dean and I have, it’s beautiful.  When I look at him I see forever, but it’s different than it was with Gadreel.  It felt more like I was settling back then.  With Dean I’m eager to experience what is ahead of us,” he replied.

 

More cheering from the audience.  Pamela had a full on grin now.

 

“That’s an amazing story.  I understand you two have some more news.  Something you haven’t even shared with your families yet.  Is that right?”

 

It was like the audience knew and was communally holding their breath in anticipation.  Dean turned to look at Cas, who was absolutely beaming.

 

“That’s right, Pamela.  On June 25th, the anniversary of the day he responded to my tweet, I proposed.”  He looked over at Dean, who lifted his left hand.  There sat a shiny silver band.  “As you can see, he accepted.”

 

The applause from the audience was deafening.  When it ended Pamela was sitting forward, her elbows on her knees and her fingers pressed together as she looked at them.

 

“I want to say that I admire the both of you.  Your dedication to one another and the circumstances under which you came together…”  She smiled and shook her head fondly.  “Not many people would have looked to the person that was left by the other’s ex.  The fact that you formed a friendship that led to falling in love, it’s amazing and I wish you both nothing but the best.  However, I think you both already found that in each other.”

 

More applause.  Dean let go of Cas’ hand and put his arm around him instead.  Cas scooted closer and leaned against him, smiling happily when Dean kissed his cheek.  She was right, they had found the best in one another, and while he thought he’d been happy with Gadreel, he hadn’t really been.  He didn’t know true happiness until Dean came into his life. 

 

Pamela gifted them with more than she had Gadreel and Michael.  She was giving them an all-expenses paid honeymoon _plus_ $10,000 in spending money, paying for their suits for the wedding, which was planned for the following June 25th, and of course, matching tee-shirts that said “Groom #1 and Groom #2”.  It was a huge relief.  The money they had allotted for the honeymoon could now get put back into their savings.  They had been talking lately about having a baby, and Cas knew Dean would want to invest in that.  Overall, he was quite happy that they had decided to come on the show.  Dean answering his tweet was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thank you so much for reading my story!


	10. Epilogue: The Future's So Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gadreel and Michael's POV's on their exes getting together. One handles it better than the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are at the end. This is the last chapter. I wanted to cover a bit of Gad and Mike's reactions to finding out that Dean and Cas are not only together but happier together than they ever were when they were with them. It's been a fun ride. Thank you to everyone that has been reading this. I'm just so happy everyone has been enjoying it so much.

[](https://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1486154307.jpg)   


 

 

**Epilogue~**

 

“Damn.  Did you see that episode of The Pamela Show this morning?”  Ed asked as he slipped his utility belt on.

 

Harry snorted.  “Hell yes, I saw that.  Do you think Gadreel saw it though?”

 

Ed shrugged.  “Honestly?  I thought he and Cas had parted amicably.  That’s how he had made it sound.  I didn’t know he just cold dumped him cause he was cheating.  Frankly, if this episode hurt him, he sort of deserved it.”

 

They finished getting ready and left the locker room to find the entire department discussing the episode from that morning. 

 

“Did you know he just up and dumped Cas like that?”

 

“Cas was so sweet!  How could he do that!  What kind of person _does_ that?”

 

“I’m so glad Cas moved on and found Dean.  Neither of them deserved that.”

 

“If you met Michael, you’d know Dean is better off without him, and Cas is better off too.”

 

Ed nudged Harry and grinned.

 

“I think if we all tuned in, Gad probably did too.”

 

“Heads up.  Here he comes now.”  Harry nodded towards a familiar form entering the station.  Everyone immediately fell silent.  Most tried to look busy, but a few were sending withering looks in Gadreel’s direction.  A few others look disgusted.  He frowned as he walked through the lobby.  When he reached Ed and Harry he stopped.

 

“Why is everyone acting so strange?” 

 

“Uh, you didn’t watch Pam’s show this morning, did you?”  Harry ventured to guess.

 

“No, I rarely ever watch it.  Why?”  Someone snorted behind him and Gadreel turned to look, his eyes narrowing.

 

“Uh, Cas…was on there today.”  Ed glanced nervously at Harry as Gadreel turned back to face them.

 

“Castiel?  Was on The Pamela Barnes Show?  Why?”

 

If they didn’t know any better Ed and Harry would have thought they being interrogated.

 

“He went on with his fiancé.  I guess Pam came across Cas’ blog and his show.  Somehow she learned that he’s your ex, and she invited them on,”  Harry explained.

 

“Cas…he’s engaged? Please tell me it’s not to Michael’s ex.” Gadreel pinched the bridge of his nose.  He could feel the start of a migraine coming on.

 

“Uh…it is.  He’s marrying Michael’s ex,”  Ed confirmed. 

 

Gadreel dropped his hands.  Michael had told him to lie when they went on her show, and he was fairly certain Cas would not have lied. And most likely not that Dean guy either.  His thoughts flashed back to the handsome man who had come to pick Cas up after his car had broken down. For a moment, looking at Cas, all of his old feelings had come rushing back and he’d been tempted to see if Cas still felt anything for him.  But then there was Michael.   He hadn’t told Mike that he’d run into Cas that day.  He also hadn’t told him that their exes had started dating.  If there had been one thing he hadn’t wanted to deal with, it was Mike’s temper.  Still, the man had found out all on his own that they were dating, and had promptly exploded.  For weeks he had ranted and complained about how horrible Dean was, and how no one in their right mind would date him.  That he was not smart, had a bad temper, had a shitty job, and was awful in bed.  And yet…

 

Cas had looked at Dean as though he were his entire world.  That had raised enough doubt within him to actually look into Dean.  What he’d found was a guy with a loving family, a solid business that was actually growing, no previous arrests, nothing more major than one ticket six years earlier for driving with a broken tail light, which later he learned from Mike’s mother that Mike broke after they’d had a fight.  And anyone that had known the guy had nothing but nice things to say about him, including Mike’s own family.  They had apparently adored Dean, and they made sure he knew it every time he was around them.  That first Christmas had been incredibly awkward, and the second hadn’t been much better.  Mike’s parents looked at Dean as though he were their son, and they sent him Christmas cards and birthday cards.  That third Christmas was when he had finally snapped.  He and Mike had gone to visit them and there, sitting on the fireplace in the living room, was a picture of Dean, his arm draped around Cas’ shoulders.  His free hand was linked with one of Cas’ and they were both beaming at the camera.  They had just looked so damn _happy_ , and it had torn him up inside to see them like that.  Mike though?  He had absolutely _flipped_ , going so far as to scream at and degrade his own parents.  That had given him a real clue as to what his future would be like if he stayed with Mike.  Sure, he was sweet and loving at home, but what if he did to him what he’d done to Dean?  What he had convinced him to do to Cas?

 

Cas hadn’t deserved what he had done.  No one in his life had ever loved him as much as Cas had, and he had stomped all over that as he broke the man’s heart.  The look on Cas’ face that night when he had lied and said he didn’t love him anymore and that he was leaving, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.  How had he let Mike get so much influence over him?  Was he like that with Dean too?  He wished he could ask the man. 

 

With a sigh he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. 

 

“Excuse me.  I need to go and make a phone call.” 

 

Gadreel moved around them into the locker room leaving Ed and Harry standing there.

 

“How much you want to bet he’s calling Mike?”  Ed asked.  Harry blew air out of his mouth and shook his head.

 

“Not making a wager on that; we both know that’s _exactly_ who he’s calling.”

 

“I liked Cas better anyway.”  Ed said as he went to clock in.  Harry nodded in agreement.

 

“Me too.”

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

The locker room was thankfully empty when he walked in, and he took a deep breath before he dialed.

 

“Gad?”

 

“Hey, Mike.  Uh, did you watch The Pamela Barnes Show this morning?”  he asked.  Mike was quiet for a moment.

 

“I did, actually.  Heard it through the grapevine that Dean was going to be on it.  I wanted to see how badly they’d badmouth us.”

 

“We deserve whatever they said about us.”  Gad believed that.  They’d treated their exes like shit and, well, karma was a _bitch_.

 

“Cas said he felt like he’d been settling with you, but with _Dean_ he sees a future.  Apparently completely with wedding bells, because they’re engaged.”  Mike was clearly very bitter and wanted him to be too.  If Cas had really said that, well, it hurt, but he deserved it.  He’d never treated Cas the way he really deserved. 

 

“I heard they were engaged.  Is it really so bad that they found happiness with each other?  Or are you just bitter that Dean moved on?”  He was irritated with Mike’s petulance.  They man was too old to be acting like this.

 

“Like I care about him.  Whatever.  Did you watch it?  They got more stuff than we did.  It’s not fair,”  Mike complained. 

 

“Mike, seriously?  It’s not a competition!  I left Cas because I fell in love with you, but I never expected him to sit around forever and not move on.  That’s not fair to him.  It’s not fair for Dean either.” 

 

“You want to hear the kicker?  Pride parade is next month.  Guess who’s riding on a float, paid for by the city?  One guess, and it’s not us.”  Mike was whining like a little baby, and it was really getting under Gad’s skin.

 

“Good for them.  If they’re happy, I’m glad.  I don’t get why you even care.  You said yourself that Dean was dull and that you’d grown bored.  I should have seen that as a sign that you were going to do the same to me.  But I allowed myself to be blinded.  I have no resentment towards Cas or Dean.  If anything, I regret leaving Cas.  He truly loved me.  It was my own fault that I was unable to love him in return.  And now he’s loving Dean the way Dean deserves.  The way you wouldn’t do.  So more power to them for finding love with each other,”  he snapped. 

 

“Maybe you forget, but _you_ broke up with _me_.  I still love you, you son of a bitch, and you left me!”  Mike shrieked angrily.  Gad got the feeling the man was day drinking by the way he was talking and how his words were slurring.

 

“Because you’re a bitter asshole that doesn’t know a good thing if it hits you upside your head.  I can’t sit around waiting for you to do to me what you did to Dean.  What I did to Cas.  I’m going to regret that for the rest of my life, but breaking up with you?  I’m not.”

 

Gad hung up the phone and let out a shuddering breath.  Bastard.  He tried not to think about how many bad decisions he had made that had led him to where he was now.  He especially tried not to think of how badly he had hurt Cas.  All around he’d been an awful boyfriend, and Cas was better off without him.  But him?  He was better off without Mike.  Standing up, he slipped his phone back into his pocket.  He had a job to do.  The time for regrets was over.

 

**♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋♋**

 

“You have _got_ to be kidding me!”  Mike tossed his phone aside and looked up in shock at his secretary who stood quietly on the other side of the desk.  She’d been briefing him on his morning appointments while he’d been checking his Twitter. 

 

“Sir?” she inquired.

 

“It’s all over Twitter!” he cried.  She was unamused and uninterested.  His outburst was making it difficult to do her job, and she just wanted to go back to her desk and finish her own work.

 

“Would you like to hear the rest of your appointments?  Your first one is in fifteen minutes,” she said.

 

He groaned and rubbed his face in irritation.  His cheeks were rough from not shaving the last two days.

 

“Yeah, go ahead.”

 

She listed the rest of his appointments before handing him a piece of paper.

 

“The board is waiting for your presentation.” 

 

With that she turned and walked out.  He looked at the paper for a moment.  It listed the bullet points for the meeting.  His phone chirped, drawing his attention back to it.  Setting the paper aside, he grabbed it and checked his notifications. 

 

“What the… _fuck_?!” His Twitter was suddenly blowing up with notifications.  Like the fiasco last year after his ex and Cas had gone on The Pamela Barnes Show.  His Twitter, his Facebook, they’d all been overrun with gifs, pictures, and videos of the interview, and it had nearly driven him crazy.  Then they’d ridden that stupid float in the Pride parade.  He had gone just to see for himself how happy Dean really was.  It had been excruciating seeing them pass by on that float, sitting cuddled together on a rainbow colored bench sharing kisses in between waving at the crowds.  They hadn’t even noticed him.  How would they?  There were thousands there.  He was just one person among many.

 

Gad of course had been there, sober expression belying his pain.  This was where Gad had proposed to him, and what had sparked everything that had happened since.  He’d waved Gad down, and to his surprise, the man had stopped and come over.  It had been a brief conversation, and he’d apologized profusely.  After talking to his own friends and family they’d all assured him he was an asshole that deserved having Gad leave him.  That didn’t make it hurt any less.  But it wasn’t enough to make the handsome police officer give him a second chance.  He’d excused himself and walked away with his new boyfriend, and wasn’t that the kicker.  Mike was well and truly alone for the first time in his life and that was his own fault.

 

He’d sought out a therapist after that.  It was just too much.  Everyone had moved on except him.  He really felt like he’d been making progress.  Then _this_ popped up.  Cas and Dean had officially gotten married.  On June fucking 25 th.  Like that meant something.  They said they’d met online on that day.  Now they were married and the wedding had been televised by The Pamela Barnes Show, and millions of people had watched it happen.  He was loathe to admit it, but he’d watched the wedding.  Watched the first man he’d ever proposed to say yes and accept another man as his husband.  And fuck if they didn’t _still_ look happy.  It had made his stomach sour and his heart ache.  Dean was undeniably head over heels in love with that Cas guy.  It wasn’t so long ago that Dean had been in love with him, and he’d fucked that up.  After twelve years he’d grown bored, he wouldn’t deny that, but with help from his therapist he’d learned that how he’d treated Dean had been unfair.  He should have just come clean, admitted that his feelings had changed rather than gone looking for something, or someone, else.

 

Instead, he’d found Gad.  By accident, really.  He’d been reading retweets on a post @truecas had made, and one particular one had stood out.  Going to the guy’s profile his breath had been taken away.  The man was gorgeous!  He’d read enough of the @truecas blog and seen the pictures posted to know that it was Cas’ fiancé, Gadreel.  Though the man was off limits, he just couldn’t get him out of his mind.  Then he’d run into him by pure accident.  Gad had switched gyms and started going to the same one as him.  Right away he’d struck up a conversation.  Really, he’d just intended to talk to the guy.  He’d alleviated his boredom with other trysts and he wondered if maybe Gad would be up for that, but it took time to learn just where the man stood on such a matter.

 

Gad had gotten rather complacent in his relationship.  He loved Cas and he was satisfied with their relationship, but he wasn’t honestly happy anymore.  Mike worked his way under the man’s skin, and they went from just working out at the gym a few times a week together to having lunch together on Saturdays.  Realizing he wasn’t just going to get into Gad’s pants at first seemed like a challenge, but then he started to develop feelings for the man.  Gad was guarded so he couldn’t tell if the man felt anything for him in return, but it didn’t stop him from falling for the quiet, serious cop. Their lunches and workout sessions went on for several months before, out of the blue, Gad brought up his relationship with Cas, and how dissatisfied he was.  Cas loved him, he knew that, but he wasn’t sure if he was in love with Cas anymore.  At least, not to the same degree.  That had gotten them talking about their relationships, and from there things between them had shifted.  Within the week he had Gad in bed, but by then it was too late.  He’d already fallen for the man.

 

Gad confessed his feelings too, and that left them both in a conundrum.  Due to pressure, Mike had proposed to Dean but truthfully, he’d done it to silence his family and friends, not because he actually wanted to marry Dean.  After so many years with him, Mike just hadn’t felt like Dean was someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, even if Dean thought differently.  He’d felt guilty about how he’d proposed, but also about the fact that he’d gotten Dean’s hopes up in the first place.  So he’d tried his damnedest to get Dean to give up and leave him.  Of course that hadn’t worked.  He had wanted to pursue what was growing between him and Gad, so he had gone and rented a new apartment.  A week later, he’d told Dean he was leaving.  His own selfishness hadn’t permitted him to give a shit about what he was doing to the man he’d spent twelve years with.  He’d collected his stuff and settled into his new place.  Two weeks later Gad was moved in with him.  He hadn’t stopped to think of the lives they were destroying, and he wasn’t sure that Gad was either.  He heard through a few mutual friends just how bad Dean was doing.  Once or twice he’d tried to talk to him, but Dean wouldn’t even pick up the phone.  Then he changed the number and the locks on the door.  He knew then that there was no making amends.  At that time he hadn’t wanted to.  Now though…

 

Things had been so good with Gad.  So, so good.  He came to love the man more than anything and where he didn’t see a future that included marriage with Dean, he did see that with Gad. Life was easy between them.  He didn’t feel the need to stray.  Then, a year in, Gad had proposed.  He had attended the Pride fest mostly because Gad was working it and had promised that when it was over, they would enjoy some time there together.  But then, in the middle of the parade, Gad had gotten down on one knee and proposed.  He hadn’t thought it would go viral though.  Seeing their video and stills from it all over social media had thrilled them both, and they had planned a big wedding with all of their family and friends for the following year.  Then, as icing on the cake, they’d been invited onto Pamela’s show.  They’d been so excited.  As fans of the show they were thrilled to be guests.  His big mistake had been asking Gad to omit the fact that they were both in relatively happy relationships when they met.  The last thing he wanted was to be known as a cheater.  Even if he was.  Damn ego.  So he’d made his ex out to sound like a monster, and had told Gad to do the same.  Even though he knew it bothered Gad to do so. 

 

It had been downhill from there.  After hearing Dean was dating Gad’s ex, he lost it.  He was so angry, but worried too that somehow, Dean would find a way to ruin him.  Stupid thought since Dean wasn’t petty like that.  He’d watched the interview on Cas’ live blog with a black, bitter anger that only later did he identify as jealousy.  Therapy had helped him identify his feelings and come to terms with his narcissism, jealousy, and anger.  The irony was that he thought Dean would be proud of him for seeking out help.  Now, here he was, alone, nothing but a memory for the two men in his life that he had loved most, and being tortured with pictures, videos, gifs, and more of his ex-fiancé’s wedding.  It had been a grand affair, and he could see the love in both their eyes as they exchanged vows.  Gad had managed to find some kind of peace after all of this.  He’d just have to do the same. 

 

As he stood up, he turned his phone off and tucked it into his desk.  He needed to concentrate on his work.  His laptop and the files for the current account were sitting on his desk, and he gathered them up.  It was a brief walk to the conference room, and his boss nodded towards a chair at the end of the table nearest the screen where he’d be displaying his projected costs.  He just wanted to get this done and over with. 

 

His boss, a droll little Scotsman by the name of Crowley, got the meeting started and as the man droned on, he let his mind wander.  When his name was called he hurried to connect his computer to the screen, and then went on to talk about cost analyses for the next half hour.  The rest of the meeting was dull, and he barely listened.  At the end, Crowley stood up to make an announcement.

 

“As you all know, we’re being considered for several new accounts, including a cable station.  This means big money for us, people, and we will do everything in our power to try and secure these new accounts.  They wanted projected cost analyses for each of their subaccounts.  I’m assigning each of you to one, and you will go over the expenses in detail,”  Crowley explained.

 

“What cable station?”  Someone asked.

 

“Oh, Real TV?  Apparently it’s a relatively newer station.  Has a lot of reality television shows, some talk shows, things of that nature.  That show True Cas is on there.  I like that one and watch it regularly.  That Cas, he’s quite an interesting character,”  Crowley mused.  Mike’s head shot up at the mention of Cas’ name.

 

“What was that?”

 

“The show True Cas is one of their shows.  You know, I think you should handle that one, Michael.  Get in contact with the people from the station right away.  I’d like to secure them as soon as possible.  Meeting dismissed!” 

 

Crowley was walking out of the room before Mike could protest.  God was a cruel and capricious deity, and this was his own personal hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have fics in the works, however, I can't say when exactly I will have another one posted. I'm still toiling away on my Megabang (almost 90k words now), but I'm working on a few other things too. I'll advertise in one of the FB groups once I put a new one up (for those not subscribed to me), and I'll try to remember to share it on Tumblr. If you like, you can follow me over there too. I'm thatwriterlady on there too. Lately all I have following me on there are porn sites. I always joke that "Oh, look, more boobies are following me", because it's always boobs in the stupid pic when I check to see who's following me. Would be nice to have real people again! If not, that's cool too. 
> 
> Thank you for reading this story. Kudos and comments are always welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> I do hope you are enjoying this fic. I have decided to put it up one chapter at a time rather than put the whole thing up all at once. Kudos and comments are always welcome. This fic is complete, so no worries, the whole thing will be put up over the next few days. Enjoy!


End file.
